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MODOC  JACK: 


OR,  THE 


LION    OF  THE  LAVA    BEDS. 


BY  CAPT.  SETH  IIARDJNGE, 

Author  of  "  Catamount  <7m''  "  The  Llazcd  Path,"  &c.t  &c. 


N  E  W  -  Y  O  R  K  : 

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MODOC    JACK, 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE     OLD     RUINS. 

THE  California  Indians  have  always  been  a  peculiar 
class. 

Savages  are  not  all  alike.  For  instance,  what  a  vast 
difference  there  is  between  the  natfves  of  the  Sand- 
wich Isles  and  those  of  New  Zealand  ! 

Fifty  years  ago,  there  were  small  settlements,  call- 
ed cities,  on  the  coast  of  California. 

These  cities  might  have  contained  from  one  hundred 
to  five  hundred  inhabitants. 

Walls  were  built  around  these  little  cities  to  protect 
the  inhabitants  from  the  Indians  who  sometimes  de- 
,  scended  from  the  mountains  and  killed  all  who  came 
within  reach. 

The  civilized  inhabitants  were  Spaniards,  although 
a  sprinkling  of  Englishmen,  American,  Irish,  and 
Scotch  was  among  them  ;  but  these  were,  for  the  most 
part  transient  persons. 

Santa  Barbara  was  a  little  city  about  as  large  as  an 
ordinary  square  in  one  of  our  Atlantic  towns;  though 


10  MODOC  JACK. 

there   were   several   tenements    outside   of  the  walls, 
the  inmates  of  which  were  always  well  armed. 

In  the  year  1824,  the  savages  made  an  irruption  from 
the  mountains  and  killed  a  number  of  persons,  among 
others  a  stout  Englishman  who  had  resided  at  Santa- 
Barbara  a  number  of  years. 

His  fate  was  remarkable  on  account  of  the  great 
number  of  Indians  that  he  killed  before  the  fatal  ar 
row  pieced  his  heart. 

It  was  long  after  the  occurrence  of  this  event  when 
a  singular  meeting  took  place  upon  a  hill  not  more  than 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  sea  shore,  and  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  walls  of  the  little  city. 

On  this  hill,  was  the  old  ruin  of  what  seemed  to 
have  been  a  castle  in  the  olden  time,  although  it  hardly 
seemed  to  have  deserved  that  name. 

On  ascending  the  long  hill,  and  approaching  the  ruin, 
a  sense  of  loneliness  and  desolation  stole  over  the 
spirits  of  the  pedestrian,  which  was  not  a  little  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  the  moles,  or  field-mice,  came 
boldly  out  of  their  burrows  as  if  to  withstand  the  pas- 
ser-by who  had  invaled  "  their  ancient,  solitary  reign." 

It  was  certainly  an  evidence  that  few  persons  had 
ever  visited  the  ruin  on  the  hill. 

The  ruin  was  entered  by  a  wide  door-way  on  the  sido 
opposite  the  sea-shore;  and  the  explorer  was  a  little 
surprised  to  discover  that  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor 
were  more  entire  than  the  tumble-down  appearance  of 
the  walls  had,  at  first,  led  him  to  suppose. 

The  rooms  were  spacious  and  very  high,  the  floor 
was  square  flags  large  and  smooth.  But,  that  was 
all. 


MODOC  JACK.  11 

Not  even  a  stone  or  a  piece  of  paper,  or  any  evidence 
that  the  place  had  once  been  inhabited  remained. 

In  one  corner  was  a  heap  of  rubbish  piled  up  by  the 
winds,  which  had  free  access  to  the  old  edifice,  and 
which  had  heaped  up  dust  and  leaves  sufficient  to  afford 
a  bed  for  any  forlorn  wretch  who  might  have  strayed 
to  those  lonely  precincts. 

At  the  moment  when  our  scene  opens,  however,  the 
place  was  not  entirely  desolate. 

A  faint  foot-fall  might  have  been  heard  by  any  one 
standing  in  the  vestibule,  and  then  an  object  appeared 
in  the  large  entrance  room  which  was  not  calculated  to 
reassure  a  timid  adventurer. 

The  apparition  which  presented  itself  was  a  tall 
and  very  slender  Indian  woman,  who  seemed  to  be 
past  middle  age  ;  and,  yet,  on  narrowly  observing  her 
countenance  it  would  have  a  trace,  a  discrimination 
that  sorrow  had  added  several  years  to  her  life  which 
time  had  never  contersigned. 

Her  features  were  strong,  intellect — her  eyes  were 
very  bright  and  piercing,  but  deep-seated — soon  spoke 
in  every  lineament  of  her  countenance. 

This  singular  combination  in  the  expression  of  her 
countenance  was  calculatsd  to  produce  a  nameless  ter- 
ror somewhat  similar  to  that  which  one  feels  when 
awaking,  with  a  shiver,  from  a  nightmare  dream. 

This  lonely  woman  in  that  lonely  place  wore  nothing 
but  a  tattered  shawl  which  was  thrown  over  her  shoul- 
ders, one  point  hanging  down  in  front  as  low  as  her 
knees. 

She  walked  from  an  inner  room  into  the  larger  ap- 
partment,  like  a  stalking  ghost,  as  if  she  felt  herself 
cut  off  from  all  communion  with  her  kind. 


12  MODOC  JACK. 

Still,  she  listened  very  attentively  as  if  expecting 
to  hear  some  other  sound  than  the  echo  of  her  own. 
footsteps. 

After  she  paused  and  turned  up  one  ear  to  catch  the 
expectant  sound,  aud  often  she  glanced  towards  tho 
door— way  with  an  air  of  anxiety  unmixed  with  dread. 

But,  she  did  not  attempt  to  approach  the  place  of 
entrance. 

At  length,  she  paused.  She  stood  like  a  statue  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  apartment,  as  motionless  as  if 
chiselled  from  stone. 

Thus  she  stook  a  considerable  time;  but,  after-long 
waiting,  she  gave  a  little  start,  and  a  slight  flush  came 
to  her  cheek. 

She  walked  slowly  towards  the  door,  and  her  dark 
eyes  seemed  to  emit  sparks  of  fire  as  a  short  figure 
entered  the  apartment  so  bundled  up  with  clothing  that 
it  was  impossible  to  determine  his  age  and  race. 

The  woman  pointed  towards  the  inner  apartment 
from  which  she  had  emerged  when  first  introduced  to 
our  readers. 

The  new  comer  went  as  directed  and  the  woman 
followed  him. 

The  room  in  which  these  two  individuals  found 
themselves  was  about  half  as  large  as  the  one  which 
they  had  left,  and  presented  the  same  appearance  of 
nakedness  and  desolation. 

The  new  coiner  threw  off  the  greater  part  of  his 
clothing  and  drew  a  long  breath,  as  if  glad  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  incumbrance. 

When  they  disrobed  the  long-expected  one  presented 
the  appearance  of  an  Indian  boy  some  fourteen  or  fif- 
teen years  of  age. 


MODOC  JACK.  13 

It  was  easy  to  trace  on  the  features  of  this  youth  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  female  in  whose  presence 
he  stood. 

The  piercing  eyes,  the  lowering  brow — everything 
but  the  expression  of  grief  was  there. 

Still,  there  was  upon  the  juvenile  countenance  a 
peculiar  pensiveness,  such  has  been  said  by  the  supersti- 
tious, to  foreshadow  a  violent  death.  One  observes 
that  sad  expression  in  the  portraits  of  Charles  I.  who 
perished  beneath  the  axe  at  Whitehall;  while,  notwith- 
standing all  his  great  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  there  is 
no  such  expression  on  the  features  of  Napoleon  the 
Great. 

But,  it  would  not,  at  this  time,  have  been  able  to 
catch  the  ominous  shadow  on  the  mobile  features  of  our 
young  Indian. 

He  looked  up  in  his  mother's  facef  ull  of  animation, 
hope,  and  confidence  ;  but,  not  until  she  had  first  ad- 
dressed him  did  he  presume  to  speak. 

"  What  tidings  brings  the  son  of  the  Bright  Feather 
to  her  of  the  desolate  soul  ?"  demanded  she,  in  the 
Indian  tongue. 

'•  1  have  seen  him/'  answered  the  Indian  boy,  joy- 
ously. 

*      Trembling  in  every  joint,  the  Indian  woman  passion- 
ately exclaimed,  "  Seen  him  /" 

Then,  after  a  slight  pause,  "  And  he  is  not  here — 
and — thou  livest !" 

The  two  last  words  were  uttered  with  a  depth  of 
scorn,  mingled  with  anguish,  which  no  pen  can  de- 
scribe. 

"Mother!  mother!"  shrieked  the    stripling;    "cast 


14  MODOC  JACK, 

me  not  from  you  thus.  Surrounded  by  a  host  ol 
armed  men,  what  could  my  puny  arm  achieve?  But, 
mother,  the  time  will  come  when  the  Son  of  Bright 
Feather  will  avenge  his  father's  wrongs,  when  he  will 
'  drink  the  blood  of  the  palefaces  as  the  hunted  deer  laps 
the  waters  of  Nondagura  when  the  sun  looks  down 
from  the  top  of  the  sky  mountains." 

"  Swear  it  !*'  uttered  the  woman  in  a  voice  deep, 
sepulchral,  and  dreadful  in  its  calmness. 

The  Indian  boy  slowly  and  reverently  sank  upon  one 
knee,  and  with  one  hand  raised  to  heaven,  he  exclaimed 
in  a  tone  not  so  deep  and  calm,  but  as  earnest  as  that 
in  which  his  mother  had  spoken  : 

"  May  my  name  be  a  scorn  and  a  reproach,  the 
scoff  of  the  yonng  damsels  at  the  corn  dance,  a  spell 
for  evil  spirits,  and  may  I  die  the  death  of  a  dog  if 
I  speak  true  words  to  the  white  man,  it  ever  I  keep 
truce  with  the  palefaces,  if  ever  I  lose  an  opportunity 
to  cleave  their  hearts  and  to  wear  their  scalps  at  my 
girdle." 

Slowly  and  silently,  the  woman  passed  her  hand 
over  the  head  of  the  kneeling  boy,  until  feeling  that  he 
was  forgiven,  he  rose  to  his  feet,  and  stood  with  bowed 
head  before  his  mother. 

After  eyeing  her  son  a  considerable  time  in  silence. 
;  the  woman  once  more  opened  her  lips. 

"And  none  suspected  you]"  demanded  she, 

"  No,  the  disguise  was  too  complete." 

"  Then,  we  may  remain  here  till  an  opportunity 
comes  to  deliver  the  captive  from  the  hands  of  the  be« 
trayer." 

"  I  heard  them  talk,  mother,"  said  the  lad. 


MODOC  JACK.  15 

"  And  what  said  they  ?" 

"  They  said  they  were  going  to  civilize  him — to  make 
him  a  Christian." 

The  Indian  woman's  tall,  dark  and  slender  form 
moved,  almost  spasmodically,  a  few  paces  towards  the 
outlet  of  the  room,  and  a  sound  like  suffocation  pro- 
ceeded from  her  chest. 

But,  instantly,  becoming  perfectly  calm,  she  stood 
thoughtfully  with  folded  arms  and  bowed  head  a'  la 
Nopoleon. 

She  then  spoke  in  her  ordinary  tone,  like  any  woman 
addressing  her  own  child  ;  of  course  in  the  Indian 
tongue  : 

"  Mahalala,"  said  she  ;  "  you  are  the  son  of  B/ight 
Feather — the  successor  of  a  great  chief.  You  are  old 
enough  to  begin  to  understand  the  world,  to  see  through 
the  guile  of  the  palefaces  and  to  learn  the  policy  of 
your  own  people. 

"  Mahalala,  when  the  whites  prate  in  your  ears  about 
their  civilization,  they  use  the  word  Christian  as  the 
Indian  brave  uses  the  hide  of  an  animal,  in  which  he 
envelopes  himself,  when  he  goes  to  attack  or  to  spy 
upon  his  enemy." 

"Under  this  robe  of  Christianity,  they  conceal  their 
purpose — their  steady  undeviating  purpose— to  rob  us 
of  our  lands  and  then  deprive  us  of  our  lives." 

Here  the  lad  interrupted  the  speaker  by  pronounc- 
ing the  word  "  Miquon  !" 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  the  woman,  with  a  start,  as  if 
suddenly  aroused  from  slumber;  "  you  have  not  for- 
gotten. It  is  well  to  remember;  but  not  now. 

"  Miquon  !  it  is  a  vision  of  the  distant  past :  it  is  a 


16  MODOC  JACK. 

tale  brought  to  our  ears  from  the  strong  men  who 
dwell  by  the  side  of  the  great  waters.  That  Penn 
was  greater  than  the  sword — than  the  long  knives  of 
the  palefaces  ;  he  came  not  with  peace  in  one  hand  and 
the  sword  in  the  other.  He  trusted  our  fathers  and 
Ithey  trusted  him.  He  came  not  with  two  faces  and  a 
double  tongue,  one  speaking  threatening  of  veng,  ance 
and  the  other  professing  peace  and  good  will." 

"  But  my  son — the  son  of  Bright  Feather— speak  not 
his  name  in  those  evil  times.  He  and  those  who  were 
led  over  the  wide  waters  by  the  Great  Spirit — had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  creatures  whom  we  deal 
with  in  these  evil  days." 

<;  The  palefaces  of  to-day  come  to  us  with  forked 
tongues  like  the  serpent;  they  long  for  the  time  when 
the  red  men  will  be  crowded  into  the  great  waters  of 
the  West,  when  the  last  Indian  will  have  been  swept 
from  the  earth,  that  they  may  steal  our  hunting-grounds, 
and  tear  open  the  graves  of  our  fathers  with  their 
plough-shares." 

The  woman  continued  speaking  in  this  strain  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  ended  by  telling  her  son  that 
they  must  contrive  some  way  to  release  Bright 
Feather. 

"  We  have   come    over  the    mountains — we   have 

sailed  the  rivers — we  have  traveled  hundreds  of  miles 

i  in  search  of  your  father  ;  and  now  that  we  have  found 

i  where  he  is  secreted,  we  will  not  leave  the  ground,  alive, 

without  him." 

Mahalala  then  produced  a  fowl  and  some  large 
brown  beans,  with  which  the  mother  and  son  broke 
their  Lst. 


HO  DOC  JACK.  1? 

The  sun  went  down  upon  Santa  Barbara,  the  old 
ruin  was  wrapt  in  gloom,  and  no  one  dreamed  that  in 
th.-»t  dark  pile  standing  up  in  the  moonlight  were  con- 
cealed two  individuals  more  dangerous  to  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  citizens  than  a  score  of  ordinary  felons. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DETECTION. 

On  the  next  morning,  the  yonng  Mahalala  bade 
ad  ion  to  his  mother,  whom  he  left  to  her  lonely  watch- 
ings,  and  set  out  once  more  upon  his  dangerous  adven- 
turers to  the  walled  city. 

He  was  so  muffled  up  as  to  present  to  view  only 
his  eyes  and  the  tip  of  his  nose. 

This  gave  him  a  ludicrous  appearance  in  the  e}res  of 
some  sailors  who  belonged  to  a  ship  that  lay  at  anchor 
within  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from   the 
shore.    They  mistook  the  young  Indian  boy  for  a  little 
old  man,  and  they  began  to  push  and  haul  him  about, 
when  they  discovered  the   superabundance   of  clothing 
in  which  he   was   enveloped.     After   cracking  a  great 
many  jokes  at  his  expence,  the  snilors  began  stripping  & 
off  his  dress,  and  then  they  perceived  that  he  was  only!' 
a  boy — and  an  Indian  at  that. 

They  regarded  it  as  a  suspicious  circumstance  that 
this  young  Indian  boy  should  be  disguised  in  that 
manner,  especially  as  they  had  heard  of  the  inroads 
upon  the  inhabitants  which  were  occasionally  made 
by  the  savages  who  dwelt  among  the  mountains. 

The  sailors  fell  to  questioning  Mahalala. 


18  MODOC  JACK. 

They  asked  him  his  name — where  he  came  from — 
and  what  he  was  doing  there. 

The  boy  could  generally  make  himself  understood  in 
English  and  Spanish,  in  so  far  as  signifying  his  wants 
was  concerned,  when  he  wanted  bread,  he  could  say 
'  bread,"  and  when  he  wanted  water,  he  could  say 
"  water  ;"  but  to  explain  the  object  of  his  present 
mission  in  Santa  Barbara  was  beyond  the  compass  of 
his  limited  knowledge  of  the  English  tongue. 

Mahalala  knew  an  Englishman  or  an  American  from 
a  Spaniard,  and  would  have  felt  perfectly  safe  in  re- 
vealing to  these  sailors  the  whole  history  of  his  father 
and  himself. 

He  believed  that  they  would  sympathize  with  him ; 
and,  in  his  juvenile  simplicity,  he  would  have  hoped 
for  their  aid  in  delivering  the  Bright  Feather  from 
bondage. 

But,  in  answer  to  the  questions  of  the  seamen,  as 
they  stood  upon  the  plains  before  the  city,  he  could 
only  point  towards  the  walls  and  utter  the  word 
"  father,"  accompanied  with  gestures  that  implied 
chains  and  captivity. 

The  sailors  comprehended  the  word  father  without 
difficulty,  but  they  were  wholly  misled  by  his  gestures. 

"Aha !  blast  me  !"  cried  a  stout  mariner,  whose 
foul-anchor  buttons  denoted  an  old  man-o'war's-man  of 
the  British  navy  ;  "  I  thought  so.  His  father  is  in 
the  plot.  This  is  a  young  decoy  duck  ;  the  old  uns 
are  playing  Bob-in-the-box.  They'll  break  water  after 
the  night-watch  is  set,  and  come  down  from  the  hills 
like  a  whole  clan  of  Highlanders  — " 

"  Bosh  !"  cried  a  slender  young  man  ;  "this  is  noth- 
ing but  a  stray  lad  hunting  after  his  father.  Let 


MODOC  JACK.  19 

him  keep  with  us,  and  we'll  make  inquiries  for  him 
directly  we  get  to  yon  goose  pen  that  they  call  a  city," 
This  view  of  the  case  found  few  converts  ;  the  ma- 
jority coincided  with  the  first  speaker,  and  saw  the 
necessity  of  making  a  prisoner  of  the  young  Indian, 
who,  being  disguised,  they  held,  must  necessarily  be 

a  BP7-  * 

Mahalala  had  keenly  watched  the  countenances  of 
the  several  speakers,  and  had  gleaned  enough,  from 
their  words  and  looks,  to  discover  that  his  liberty  was 
in  danger. 

Therefore,  while  pretending  to  be  perfectly  ignorant 
of  what  was  passing  before  him,  he  watched  his  oppor- 
tunity, and  when  he  imagined  that  the  sailors  were  off 
their  guard,  he  sprang  away  from  them  and  ran,  with 
his  utmost  speed,  in  the  direction  of  the  mountains. 

He  had  secured  a  good  start  before  the  seamen  per- 
ceived his  intention. 

They  gave  chase,  but  in  such  an  irregular  and  devi- 
ous manner — not  being  accustomed  to  land  travel — 
that  Mahalala  made  his  escape  with  ease,  while  such 
natives  as  witnessed  the  chase  from  a  distance,  supposed 
it  was  only  a  lark  among  sailors,  and  paid  no  attention 
to  it. 

When  the  young  Indian  had  got  beyond  the  inhabi- 
ted district,  and  found 'himself  among  the  groves  and 
dingles,  be  paused  as  if  uncertain  whether  to  continue  » 
his  route  or  return  to  apprize  his  mother  of  what  had 
taken  place. 

No  doubt,  the  sailors  would  teli  every  one  thoy  met 
that  an  attack  was  meditated  on  the  town  by  the  In-» 
dinns,  and  that  a  young  scout  had  already  been  detect- 
ed and  had  made  his  escape. 


20  MO  DOC  JACK. 

Mahalala  knew  that  well.  Yet  he  could  not  con- 
template leaving  his  mother  in  Jhe  lurch. 

He  believed  that  by  taking  a  circuitous  course,  he 
could  reach  the  ruin  or  hill  without  being  seen  by  any 
of  the  native  Spaniards. 

Accordingly,  he  struck  off  in  such  a  direction  as  to 
carry  him  far  on  the  laud  side  of  the  little  city. 

He  had  gone  about  a  mile,  and  was  cheering  himself 
•with  the  thought  of  reaching  his  mother  before  dark, 
when  two  men,  in  the  dress  of  ^Spaniards  suddenly 
emerged  from  a  clump  of  bushes,  and  encountered  the 
young  fugitive  face  to  face. 

Both  these  Spaniards  were  armed  with  guns  and  long 
knives. 

Every  Indian  in  that  region  was  regarded  as  an 
enemy  ;  and,  the  Spaniards  at  once  levelled  their  pieces 
at  Mahalala  ;  but,  observing  his  extreme  youth,  one  of 
them  lowered  his  piece  and  said  to  the  other,  '•  Pugh  ! 
nothing  but  a  child." 

o 

"  He  will  grow  bigger  if  we  let  him  live,"  replied 
the  other,  still  showing  a  disposition  to  fire. 

But,  the  first  speaker  shook  his  head,  and  insisted 
that  the  lad  should  not  be  hurt. 

"  At  least,  then,"  said  the  other ;  "  we'll  make  a 
prisoner  of  him,  so  that  the  young  heathen  may  be 
baptized  and  brought  up  a  Christian." 

His  companion  reluctantly  consented  to  the  compro- 
mise proposed  ;  and,  forthwith,  the  twain  approached 
the  Indian  boy  for  the  purpose  of  laying  their  hands 
upon  him. 

Their  purpose  was  not  so  easily  carried  into  effect  as 
they  had  anticipated.  The  young  lad  suddenly  drew 


MODOC  JACK.  21 

a  dagger  from  the  folds  of  his  dress,  and  kept  them 
both  at  bay. 

"  Surrender,  and  you  shall  not  be  harmed,"  said  one 
of  the  Spaniards. 

"  L  will  save  us  the  trouble  of  shooting  you,"  added 
^  the  other,  aiming  his  piece  at  the  heart  of  Mahalala. 

He  hai  pretended  that  he  was  about  to  give  himself 
up ;  and,  having  thus  thrown  the  Spaniards  off  their 
guard,  he  plunged  into  a  neighboring  thicket. 

One  of  the  men  discharged  his  piece  at  the  fugitive, 
and  the  ball  grazed  the  fleshy  part  of  his  arm. 

The  lad  continued  his  flight,  but  the  two  Spaniards, 
being  determined  to  apprehend  him  now  that  they  knew 
he  was  armed,  raised  the  hue  and  cry,  which  was  heard 
by  several  Spaniards  who  were  hovering  around  a 
large  pot  in  which  pieces  of  meat  were  boiling. 

The  women  who  superintended  the  culinary  depart- 
ment, insisted  that  the  men  should  go  out  and  see  what 
was  the  matter. 

The  latter  would  much  rather  have  broken  their  fast, 
and  they  delayed  to  go  forth  so  long  that  Hahalala  had 
nearly  reached  the  embowered  old  barrack  before  they 
sallied  into  the  open  air. 

The  Indian  had  perceived  too  late  that,  in  his  blind 
flight,  he  had  approached  a  nest  of  his  enemies. 

Three  men  broke  from  the  covert  just  in  time  for 
Mahalala  to  run  into  their  arms.  His  two  pursuers 
came  up  at  about  the  same  moment,  and  halloed  to  the 
captors  of  the  boy  to  hold  fast  to  the  prize. 

Mahalala  struggled  and  kicked  in  vain.  The  five 
men  were,  altogether,  too  much  for  him,  and  he  was 


22  *  MODOC  JACK, 

soon  tied  hand  and  foot  by  ropes  made  of  bullocks' 
hides. 

Mahalala  was  taken  into  the  ranche  ;  and,  at  first 
sight,  the  women  took  a  great  fancy  to  him. 

This  saved  him  from  harm,  as  one  of  the  first  two 
Spaniards  was  loud  in  his  censures  of  the  lad  who  had 
.drawn  a  dagger  on  him,  and  who  came  near  inflicting 
an  ugly  wound  upon  his  wrist,  when  he  undertook  to 
seize  him. 

The  question,  therefore,  came  up,  "  what  shall  we 
do  with  the  prisoner  ?" 

Some  were  for  taking  him  to  the  city  to  be  civilized 
and  christianized.  That  is  to  say,  bound  with  chains 
and  made  to  bear  burdens  till  they  agreed  to  be  chris- 
tians. 

Therefore,  the  conversion  of  these  Indian  captives 
was,  generally,  effected  in  a  few  months ;  and,  they  re- 
mained converted  till  they  got  an  opportunity  to  escape 
and  fly  to  the  mountains,  where  they  joined  their  old 
associates  and  were  prepared  to  lead  marauding  parties, 
inasmuch  as  they  had  become  acquainted  with  the  to- 
pography of  the  white  settlement,  and  knew  whereto 
strike  the  foe  better  than  those  who  had  never  been 
captured. 

But,  the  women  interposed  so  clamorously  that  the 
nobler  sex  were  obliged  to  listen  to  them. 

They  declared  it  was  a  pity  that  so  fine  a  lad  should 
be  transformed  into  a  beast  of  burden,  and  insisted 
that  he  was  too  young  to  be  made  a  Christain  of. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  willing  to  be  at  the  charge  of 
clothing  and  feeding  him?"  demanded  one  of  the 
Spaniards,  angrily. 


MODOC  JACK  23 

"  No,"  returned  the  lady  of  the  house  ;  "  that  is  un- 
necessary." 

"  Then,  you  will  let  him  go  back  to  the  mountains 
and  join  the  murderers  who  come  upon  us,  every  year, 
to  take  our  property,  and  our  lives." 

"  No,"  answered  the  woman  ;  "  but  Senora  Valma- 
seda  wants  a  house  servant,  and  we  will  send  him  there 
by  Phillippa  Gonzalo  when  he  goes  with  his  mules, 
next  month." 

"  And  the  Senora  will  thank  you  for  your  pains  !" 
cried  the  Spaniard,  scornfully;  and,  so  saying  he  drew 
a  long  knife  from  his  leggings,  and  approached  the 
young  Indian  with  a  sinister  gesture. 

'*  Misericordia  !  quartel  porel  amor  de  Dies  /" 
shrieked  the  women,  throwing  themselves  between 
Mahalala  and  the  uplifted  knife. 

Whether  the  Spaniard  really  intended  to  kill  the 
lad  or  not  will  never  be  positively  known  ;  but  it  was 
evident  that  the  latter  thought  his  life  in  danger;  for, 
he  drew  his  dagger  as  quick  as  lightning,  and  stood  on 
the  defensive,  with  flashing  eyes,  and  undaunted  as- 
pect. 

The  men  seemed  to  be  highly  amused  at  this 
chivalric  display  under  difficulties;  and  he  was  left  un- 
molested several  days. 

But,  every  attempt  that  Mahalala  made  to  escape 
and  return  to  his  mother  was  frustrated  by  the  watch- 
ful Spaniard,  until  the  proper  time  came  for  packing 
him  off  to  San  Jose  where  the  Senora  Tnlmadesa  re- 
sided in  grand  style. 

He  was  fallen  upon  while  asleep  an 3  tied,  hand  and 


24  MODOC  JACK. 

foot ;  he  awoke  during  the  operation,  but  too  late  to 
fret?  himself. 

When  he  found  that  he  could  do  nothing  to  extricate 
himself,  the  lad  became  moodily  silent. 

Phillippa  was  charged  to  convey  him  to  San  Jose, 
and  deliver  him  up  to  the  Senora. 

During  the  whole  journey,  Mahalala  spoke  not  a 
word,  though  Phillippa  was  well  disposed  towards  the 
boy,  and  endeavored  to  engage  him  in  conversation. 

At  length,  appeared  in  sight  the  bright  foliage  which 
surrounded  the  mansion  of  the  Senora  Valmadesa  :  the 
orange  trees,  the  lemons,  the  forest  of  flowers,  and  the 
graveled  walks,  and  the  long,  shady  avenues. 

Phillippa  drove  through  an  arched  passage  into  the 
centre  court,for  the  four  sides  of  the  house  enclosed  an 
area  about  eighty  feet  square.  Into  this  central  yard 
or  court,  the  carriage  was  driven,  and  the  lady  sent  a 
servant  to  get  the  news  from  Phillippa. 

When  the  Senora  learned  that  a  house  servant  had 
been  brought  to  her,  she  commanded  that  Phillippa 
should  bring  him  into  her  presence. 

Accordingly,  Phillippa  Jed  Mahalala  into  a  high, 
splendid  apartment  adorned  in  princely  style,  and  pre- 
sented him  to  the  lady. 

She  cried  out,  at  once,  that  he  was  too  young  for  her 
purpose  ;  and,  she  also  said  she  doubted  her  ability  to 
make  him  serviceable,  as  he  seemed  ill-disposed  to  tarry 
with  her. 

But,  the  Senora  added  that  she  knew  of  an  English 
lady  living  near  the  sea-shore  who  wanted  a  boy  ;  and, 
perhaps,  he  would  be  better  suited  there. 

Phillippa  was  mortified  at  this  reception  ;  but,  he 


MODOC  JACK.  25 

hid  his  chagrin  as  well  as  he  was  ab,e,  ana  roae  over  to 
the  house  of  the  Lady  Winterton,  with  his  charge,  hav- 
ing with  him  two  assistants,  so  fearful  was  he  that  the 
Indian  boy  would  make  his  escape  in  spite  of  all  that 
he  could  do. 

Lady  Winterton  lived  at  her  husband's  pretty  villa, 
within  sight  of  the  surf  that  whitened  the  California!! 
shores. 

With  her  were  two  daughters,  Penelope  and  Angela. 
Penelope,  the  eldest,  was  19  years  of  age,  rather  a- 
bove  the  middling   height,  well  formed  ;  with  jet  black 
eyes  and  hair,  and  a  very  clear  and  dark  complexion. 

Angela,  seventeen  years  of  age,  was,  on  the  contrary 
very  fair,  with  large,  soft  blue  eyes  and  a  profusion  of 
flaxen  hair  which  hung  in  natural  ringlets  about  her  neck 
and  temples. 

The  young  Indian  boy  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Win- 
terton and  her  two  daughters  by  Phillippa. 

The  lady,  in  few  words,  said  that  she  thought  Maha- 
lala  would  answrer  her  purpose  ;  while  the  two  girls, 
though  they  said  nothing,  showed  by  their  looks,  that 
they  thought  him  handsome. 

Phillippa  was  at  a  stand  ;  he  did  not  want  to  dis- 
parage his  charge;  and,  yet,  he  felt  that  it  was  hardly 
fair  to  leave  the  lady  without  warning  her  that  the  lad 
would  escape  on  the  first  opportunity. 

Phillippa  took  a  middle  course,  and  simply  suggest- 
ed that  some  boys  would  run  away,  and  that  she  had 
better  keep  watch  of  Mahalala  until  he  had  become  ac- 
customed to  his  new  mode  of  life. 

"  I  don't  think  he  will  want  to  leave  us,"  said  the 
ludy  ;  "  our  treatment  of  himwill  not  be  harsh,  and  the 


26  MODOC  JACK. 

services  which  he  will  have  to  perform  are  not  onerous." 

Phillippa  made  his  best  bow  and  departed,  heartily 
glad  to  get  rid  of  the  troublesome  boy. 

As  soon  as  Phillippa  had  withdrawn,  Lady  Winter- 
ton  called  Mahalala  to  her  side,  and,  pointing  out  her 
two  girls  to  him,  asked  him  which  of  the  two  he  liked 
best. 

Without  the  least  hesitation,  he  nodded  towards  An- 
gela, and  answered  "  thac  one." 

Angela  was  too  amiable  to  triumph  over  her  sister, 
but,  Mahalala  had  made  an  enemy  of  Penelope  forever. 

The  black  eyes  flashed,  and,  with  a  curl  of  her  red 
lip,  she  said  scornfully  :  "  I  congratulate  Angela  on  her 
conquest." 

The  mother  only  smiled,  when  Penelope  resumed  : 
''Is  this  young  savage  to  be  an  inmafe  of  the  drawing- 
room  1 ' 

"  HJ  will  not  stay  with  us  long,  certainly,  if  you 
speak  of  him  thus,"  replied  the  lady  ;  "  as  he  shows  a 
preference  for  Angela,  1  think  of  Jetting  him  wait  upon 
her  for  the  present.  You  will  see  that  none  of  the  ser- 
vants molest  him.  To  judge  by  the  expression  of  his 
countenance,  he  is  not  so  much  of  a  savage  as  you 
would  have  us  to  believe." 

"  Do  you  know  who  made  you  ?"  demanded  she; 
"  have  you  ever  been  instructed  in  the  catechism  of  a 
Christian  Church'?" 

Mahalala  understood,  by  these  questions,  that  the 
lady  wanted  to  know  whether  he  was  a  Christian  or  not, 
and  he  quickly  replied  : 

"  No  Christian.    Christian  steal  land,    Christian  steal 


MODOC  JACK.  27 

my  father.  Christian  kill  all  the  red  men  and  steal  all 
their  land." 

Penelope  glanced  at  her  sister,  as  she  murmured  : 
"  you  are  likely  to  have  a  gay  time  with  your  portege. 
I  wish  you  much  joy,  Angela." 

Angela  prepared  herself  to  fulfil  her  mother's  wishes, 
and,  how  she  did  it  one  can  scarcely  say,  but  she  was 
seen  by  the  side  of  Mahalala,  soon  after  instructing  him 
how  to  hold  a  skein  of  silk  while  she  wound  it  off  upon 
a  ball. 

The  intractable  boy  appeared  to  be  beguiled  from  his 
evil  thoughts — beguiled  from  himself  by  some  curious 
witchery  exercised  over  him  by  this  young  girl  of  sev- 
enteen, so  that  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  he  had  for- 
gotten his  oath  never  to  be  reconciled  to  the  pale-faces. 

We  shall  see. 

No  one  could  doubt,  who  saw  Angela  and  Mahalala 
together,  that  the  latter  was,for  the  moment,  enchanted 
by  his  young  mistress. 

Whether  she  was  equally  delighted  by  him  or  not, 
it  was  no  easy  matter  to  decide.  She  might  have  been 
only  carrving  out  the  wishes  of  her  mother. 

J  V  O 

When  night  arrived,  it  became  evident  that,  although 
the  young  captive  was  treated  with  the  utmost  gentle- 
ness, the  lady  of  the  mansion  did  not  intend  to  neglect 
the  necessary  precautions  against  his  escape.  He  was 
put  to  bed  in  a  room  so  high  that  it  would  have  been 
madness  for  him  to  attempt  to  escape  from  the  window  , 
and  the  door  was  locked  on  the  out-side.  He  was 
not  aware  that  a  servant  slept  on  the  sill  of  his  door, 
so  that  the  least  attempt  made  at  escape  on  the  part 
of  the  Indian  boy  would  have  been  effectually  prevented. 


MODOC  JACK. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  FLIGHT. 

Two  weeks  had  passed  in  this  monner  ;  and,  although 
no  disposition  to  escape  had  been  shown  by  Mahalala, 
yet  the  watchfulness  of  those  who  had  him  in  charge 
was,  in  no  degree,  relaxed. 

The  young  Indian  had  seemed  to  become  more  and 
more  attached  to  Angela,  while,  towards  her  sister,  he 
had  shown  anything  else  but  a  tractable  disposition. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  young  captive 
expressed  his  preference  for  Angela,  her  sister  resented 
it  highly. 

Still  Penelope  was  too  well-bred  to  engage  in  a  vul- 
gar brawl  with  a  boy  of  fourteen,  and  he  a  savage. 
But,  she  was  none  the  less  dangerous  on  that  account. 
She  took  every  opportunity,  by  hints  and  inuendoes  to 
discharge  Mahalala;  and,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that 
"  a  continual  dropping  wears  away  a  stone,"  it  may  be 
imagined  not  only  that  some  effect  was  wrought  upon 
the  master  and  mistress  of  the  mansion  by  these  tactics, 
but,  also,  that  a  spirit  of  revenge  against  Miss  Pene- 
lope Winterton  was  cherished  in  the  fierce  bosom  of 
the  young  savage, 

"Jack,"  said  the  young  lady  to  him  one  day — for 
"  Jack"  was  the  name  which  she  gave  the  poor  house 
boy — "  Jack,  is  n't  it  almost  time  that  you  were  chris- 
tened, and  that  you  were  taught  your  catechism?" 

Now,  Jack  knew  very  well  that  this  was  a  taunt,  and 
that  it  was  spoken  on  purpose  to  annoy  him,  for  neither 


MODOC  JACK.  29 

Lady  Winterton  nor  her  husband  wished  to  force  their 
religion  upon  him  :  therefore,  he  answered  carelessly  : 
— "  That's  just  as  Miss  Angela  says.  She  has  not  said 
anything  to  me  about  it,  yet." 

Penelope  bit  her  lips,and  sailed  away  with  the  air  of 
Juno.  She  felt  that  the  Indian  boy,  with  an  air  of  the 
utmost  simplicity,  had  told  her  to  mind  her  own  busi- 
ness ;  for  he  had  reminded  Penelope  that  her  mother 
had  placed  him  at  the  orders  of  Angela,  and  that  she 
had  no  right  to  meddle  wiih  him. 

Still,  if  Penelope  had  complained  to  her  parents,  they 
would  have  seen  nothing  out  of  the  way  in  the  reply  of 
the  young  Indian.  They  would  rather  have  approved 
his  entire  devotion  to  Angela,  as  Lady  Winterton  had 
given  him  to  understand  that  the  younger  daughter  was 
his  mistress,  and  that  he  must  wait  upon  her  exclu- 
sively. 

From  that  time  forward,  the  bitterness  of  Penelope 
towards  Mahalala  increased  in  geometrical  progression. 

This  gave  great  distress  to  Angela,  who  really  liked 
the  boy,  and  who  imagined  that  he  was  attached  to  her 
in  turn  ;  but  she  was  too  gentle  a  nature  to  reprove  her 
elder  sister,  who,  might  almost  be  said,  lorded  it  over 
the  whole  family. 

At  length,  after  Mahalala  had  been  at  the  mansion  a 
little  more  than  a  year,  Penelope  saw  a  prospect  of 
glutting  her  revenge  both  upon  the  Indian  boy  and  his 
young  mistress  ;  since  she  knew  that  any  misfortune 
befalling  Jack  would  grieve  Angela. 

Jack  had  accidentally  shot  and  killed  a  splendid 
peacock  in  which  the  whole  family  took  much  pride 
and  pleasure. 


30  MODOC  JACK. 

When  her  father  came  home,  Penelope  ran  directly 
to  him,  and  so  represented  the  case  as  to  make  it  appear 
that  the  young  Indian  had  purposely  killed  the 
peacock. 

But,  unfortunately  for  Winterton's  purpose,  Jack 
overheard  all  that  passed  between  Penelope  and  her 
father,  and  while  his  heart  was  ready  to  burst  with 
revenge  against  the  young  lady,  he  resolved  that  her 
father's  threat  should  never  be  put  in  execution. 

Accordingly,  he  crept  out  of  the  house  immediately, 
and  finding  the  horse  upon  which  the  angry  gentleman 
had  ridden  standing,  all  saddled  and  bridled,  at  the 
door,  he  threw  himself  upon  the  back  of  the  animal, 
and  dashed  away  at  full  speed  into  the  interior. 

But,  Jack  did  not  fly  unseen. 

The  groom  was  not  far  off;  and,  he,  knowing  that  he 
should  suffer  for  his  neglect  if  Jack  got  safely  off  with 
the  horse,  raised  the  hue  and  cry  and  hastily  getting 
upon  the  back  of  another  horse  set  out,  at  full  speed, 
in  chase  of  the  run-a-way. 

As  for  Mr.  Winterton,  already  exasperated  against 
Jack  for  killing  his  favorite  bird,  he  was  furious  when 
he  discovered  that  the  Indian  had  had  the  audacity  to 
run  away  with  his  best  saddle-horse. 

Giving  a  hasty  order  that  all  the  men  about  the 
place  should  mount  and  ride  after  the  fugitive,  he  sprang 
upon  a  horse  and  joined  in  the  pursuit. 

But,  Jack  had  got  a  pretty  good  start,  and  having 
reached  a  forest  five  miles  distant  from  the  mansion 
without  having  seen  any  of  his  pursuers,  he  dis- 
mounted, and  leaving  the  horse  to  shift  for  himself,  he 
entered  the  forest  and  continued  his  journey  in  the  di- 


9  MODOC  JACK.  31 

rection  of  Santa  Barbara,  where  he  had  left  his  mother. 
Neither  Winterton  nor  his  men  knew  anything  about 
Jack's  mother. 

Had  they  known  that  he  had  left  his  mother  in  an 
old  ruin  at  Santa  Barbara,  they  would  have  so  shaped 
their  course  as  to  cut  him  off,  and  he  would  have 
fallen  a  prey  to  his  enemies. 

But,  his  pursuers,  upon  finding  Mr.  Winterton's 
horse  at  the  edge  of  the  forest,  concluded  thut  Jack  had 
shaped  his  course  for  New  Mexico,  and  they  continued 
on  till  they  reached  the  mountains,  when  they  turned 
back,  Winterton  being  well  pleased  with  having  re- 
covered his  nag. 

When  Winterton  returned,  with  his  servants  to  the  * 
mansion,  he  found  Angela  greatly  distressed  on  account 
of  her  servant  who,  she  feared,  would  be  treated  very 
roughly  when  caught. 

But  Penelope  was  so  angry  when  she  discovered 
that  the  men  had  all  come  back  without  the  run-a-way, 
that  she  could  scarcely  contain  herself;  and  her  langu- 
age, even  to  her  father,  was  so  violent  that  he  forbade 
her  to  come  into  his  presence  till  she  had  sent  an 
apology  for  her  conduct. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  young  Indian  was  threading 
forests,  crossing  everglades,  and  fording  swamps  on 
his  way  to  the  old  ruin  where  he  had  left  his  mother. 

He  believed  that  the  palefaces  of  that  region  had 
forgotten  all  about  him,  and  that  he  might  now  ven- 
ture there  with  safety. 

As  he  lessened  the  distance  between  Santa  Barbara 
and  himself,  he  became  more  and  more  anxious. 

He  had  reason  to  believe  that  his  mother  would 


32  JVIODOC  JACK.  ^ 

continue  to  linger  about  the  precincts  where  her  hus- 
band was  confined  as  a  prisoner  ;  but,  how  great  must 
have  been  her  anxiety  about  him  ! 

Then,  again,  she  had  depended  upon  him  to  procure 
*  food  both  for  her  and   for  himself.     Could  she  venture 
abroad  during  his  absence  without  immediately  attract- 
ing attention  ?  and,  in    that   case   might   not  she,  also, 
have  been  seized  and  held  as  a  prisoner  ? 

These  reflections  quickened  his  steps,  and  he  scarcely 
permitted  himself  to  rest  at  night. 

Finally,  "Jack" — as  he  was  called  by  the  Winter- 
tons — begun  to  fill  in  with  the  pal e- faces ;  that  is  to 
suy,  he  saw  them,  buu  he  did  not  permit  them  to  see 
him;  although,  being  dressed  in  civilized  habiliments, 
and  knowing  how  to  speak  English  pretty  Avell,he  might 
have  passed  himself  off  as  a  civilized  man. 

But  Jack  had  no  penchant  for  a  civilized  life  ;  and 
now  that  he  was  once  more  abroad  and  at  liberty  on 
nature's  wide  domain,  he  felt  how  much  better  it  was 
to  be  a  freeman  than  a  slave,  even  when  the  latter  is 
surrounded  by  luxury  and  is  treated  with  every  indulg- 
ence. 

It  would  be  untrue  to  say  that  Jack  never  thought  of 
Angela.  His  young  mistress  often  rose  to  the  eyes  of 
his  imagination,  with  her  bonny  blue  eyes  and  waving 
locks,  her  rounded  and  graceful  form,  elegantly  y<et 
neatly  arrayed  in  the  most  costly  garments. 

He  thought  of  her  gentle  voice,  of  the  earnest  man- 
ner in  which  she  had  always  advocated  his  cause  against 
her  sister,  and  of  the  many  little  presents  which  he  had 
received  from  her  fair  hands,  all  of  which  he  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  behind  him. 


MODOC  JACK.  33 

He  also  thought  of  Penelope  and  her  father,  and  then 
he  renewed  his  oath  that  he  would  never  make  peace 
with  the  white  man,  and  that  his  hand  should  forever 
be  against  the  pale-faces. 

It  was  evening  when  he  entered  the  suburbs  of  Santa 
Barbara,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  making  his  way  to 
the  hill  overlooking  the  harbor  upon  which  stood  the 
old  ruins. 

His  heart  palpitated  as  he  ascended  the  hill,  what  if 
he  should  meet  his  mother  outside  of  the  edifice  ? 
would  she  Le  frightened  on  perceiving  a  stranger  so 
near  her,  especially  when  he  was  dressed  in  the  hated 
garb  of  the  pale  faces  ? 

Ho  reached  the  old  doorway — the  broad  entrance  to 
the  ruin. 

The  moonbeams  shone  into  the  hall  and  fell  bright 
and  cool  upon  the  stone  floor. 

"Anna!"  said  he  in  a  low  voice.  There  was  no 
response. 

^Anna  /"  cried  he,  louder.  Still  nothing  but  the  hol- 
low, sepulchral  walls  echoed  to  his  voice. 

"Anna!  buccahdam?^  (Mother,  are  you  hungry) 
continued  the  lad,  fearful  that  she  was  unable  to  answer 
him  from  exhaustion,  from  want  of  food. 

He  now  feared  to  enter  and  explore  the  crumbling 
apartments  of  the  old  ruin. 

He  felt  a  presentment  that  he  should  d\jf£ver 
something  of  a  sinister  nature. 

At  length,  after  repeatedly  calling  upon  his  mother 
and  receiving  no  answer,  he  ventured  slowly  to  go 
forward. 

He  made  sure  that  the  entrance  hall  was  unirihabit- 


84  MODOC  JACK. 

ed  ;  then,  he  entered  another  apartment,  and    called 
loudly  upon  his  mother. 

There  was  no  response  ;  and,  at  length,  after  having 
f;  explored  every  part  of  the  crumbling  edifice,  he  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  that  his  mother  was  gone. 

His  first  impulse  was  to  start  immediately  for  his 
old  home  among  the  mountains  where  his  father  and 
mother  originally  lived. 

But,  the  thought  arose  that  his  mother  would  not  have 
left  Bright  Feather  in  bondage.  She  was  probably 
lingering  about  the  neighborhood.  She  might,  even 
then,  have  only  gone  out  to  procure  food. 

She  might  return  before  morning. 

Therefore  Jack  lay  down  upon  a  bed  of  leaves  in 
one  corner,  and  soon  sank  into  a  deep  sleep ;  as  well 
he  might,  for  his  travels  and  anxiety  of  mind  had  been 
incessant  for  several  days. 

But,  Jack  woke  long  before  dawn  of  day,  waiting 
impatiently  for  the  morning  light. 

As  he  moved  restlessly  about  on  his  bed  of  leaves, 
his  hand  or  his  knee  occassionly  came  in  contact  with 
something  hard;  and  he  imagined  that  when  he  ac- 
cidentally struck  it  with  his  foot,  it  made  a  rattling 
sound. 

His  curiosity  was  not  much  awakened  by  it,  at  the 
time,  though  he  thought  of  it  afterwards. 

When,  at  length,  the  daylight  appeared  Jack  got 
up.  an&,  as  he  did  so,  on  casting  down  his  eyes  at  the 
bed  of  leaves,  he  saw  that  the  hard  substance  with 
which  his  limbs  had  come  in  contact  during  the  dark- 
ness was  a  human  skeleton. 

"  My  mother's  bones  !"  cried  Jack,  sinking  upon  his 


MODOC  JACK.  35 

knees  and  entirely  covering  his   face    with  his  hands. 

For  a  moment,  a  hope  arose  in  his  mind  that  this 

fearful  object  might  be  the  remains  of  some  straggler 

who  had  sought  a  shelter  in  the  old  ruin  for  the  night. 

But,  upon  inspection,  he  ascertained  to  a  certainty 
that  it  was  the  skeleton  of  his  mother. 

He  knew  her  by  the  old  tattered  shawl  that  she 
wore,  and  by  other  signs. 

This  discovery  not  only  told  him  that  he  was  now 
an  orphan,  but  it  also  gave  rise  to  the  most  painful 
surmises. 

His  mother  might  have  died  of  grief  at  his  absence, 
she  might  have  died  of  starvation,  being  deterred  from 
venturing  abroad  to  seek  for  food  by  the  certainty  of 
detection. 

It  is  unnecesary  to  say  that  Mahalala,  alias  Jack, 
was  wholly  overcome  with  grief. 

He  sat  for  hours  gazing  upon  his  mother's  skeleton, 
the  picture  of  despair. 

On  the  third  day,  he  started  up  to  go  and  look  for 
his  father. 

When  he  approached  the  group  of  captive  Indians  in 
the  plaza,  he  found  that  he  attracted  no  more  attention 
than  any  young  Spanish  boy  might  have  done. 
I      But,  he  did  not  see  his  father  among  the  prisoners. 

He  watched  his  opportunity,  and  made  inquiries 
after  Bright  Feather,  of  one  of  the  captives. 

He  was  informed,  in  few  words,  that  Bright  Feather 
had  made  an  attempt  to  escape,  and  had  been  shot 
down. 

His  father  was  dead. 

It  was  enough.     He  turned  his  back  upon  Santa  Bar- 


36  MODOC  JACK. 

bara,  and  started  for  the  wild,  the  sworn  foe  of  the 
white  man. 

Jack  was  now  in  his  sixteenth  year,  tall  of  his  agej 
straight  ns  an  arrow,  and  supole  as  the  antelope. 

Ho  could  no  longer  think  of  returning  to  his  home, 
never  more  to  be  cheered  by  the  presence  of  his 
mother,  and  to  which  the  lines  of  Campbell  would  so 
well  apply. 

4<Seek  we  thy  once-loved  home, 

The  hand  is  gone  that  cropped  its  flowers, 

Unheard  the  clock  repeats  its  hour, 

The  hearth  is  cold  within  the  bowers; 

Our  voices  and  our  silent  tread 

Would  sound  like  echoes  from  the  dead." 

Alone  and  desolated,  Mahalala  wandered  eastward  till 
he  fell  in  with  a  roving  band  of  western  Apaches. 

With  them  he  cast  in  his  lot  for  a  time;  and,  it  was 
not  long  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  wreak  his  ven- 
geance on  the  people  who  had  deprived  him  of  his 
father  and  mother. 

Three  hunters  were  found  asleep  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
when  Jack  and  two  other  young  Indians  clove  their 
skulls  with  their  tomahawks  and  took  their  scalps. 

When  Jack  fastened  that  scalp  to  his  girdle,  he  look- 
ed toward  the  west,  and  smiled. 

It  was  his  first  trophy  ;  his  mother,  in  the  land  of 
spirits  would  see  that  he  had  kept  his  oath. 

Jack  and  his  two  confederates  were  arrested  ;  but,  as 
it  was  deemed  impossible  that  a  mere  boy  should  have 
t.-iken  part  in  this  slaughter,  he  was  acquitted,  while 
the  other  two  were  hanged. 

Jack  stole  a  horse  while  all  the  people  were  attend^ 


MODOC  JACK.  37 

ing  the  execution,  and  set  out,  at  full  speed  for  the 
North. 

That  is  the  last  we  heard  of  Jack  until  he  had  at- 
tained the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TRAVELERS  VENGEANCE. 

A  COMPANY  well  bestead  with  all  conveniences  for  a 
journey,  with  equipage,  fine  horses,  and  loaded  sumpter 
mules,  lay  encamped  on  the  eastern  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains, at  no  great  distance  from  Lake  Kern. 

Tents  were  raised  and  fastened  down  in  the  most 
approved  fashion ;  the  animals  were  picketed  by  driv- 
.ing  stakes  into  the  ground  and  tying  them  with  a  long 
lariat  which  afforded  them  ample  space  to  move  about 
and  crop  the  herbage. 

All  seemed  to  be  in  high  spirits.  The  company 
consisted  of  eight  or  ten  trappers  dressed  and  equipped 
for  hunting,  all  well  armed  ;  a  gentleman,  his  wife, 
two  daughters,  and  a  young  son  not  more  than  four 
years  old. 

Besides  this,  there  were  a  number  of  servants  in  at- 
tendance. 

Preparations  were  speedily  made  for  the  evening 
meal,  though  the  sun  was  still  three  hours  high. 

"  Red  Brand,"  said  the  gentleman  to  a  strapping 
hunter,  whose  face  was  embrowned  with  much  service, 
and  on  whose  brow  was  the  cicatrice  of  a  long  wound 


38  MODOC  JACK. 

which  must  have  laid  bare  the  fontal  bone ;  "  Red 
Brand,  do  you  think  we  shall  reach  the  Pass  by  day 
after  to-morrow,  and  do  you  never  meet  with  any  in- 
terruption in  this  region  *?" 

"  As  for  the  pass,  sir,"  returned  Red  Brand  ;  "  we  can 
skersely  'spect  to  come  by  it  so  'a»-ly  as  that,  and  as 
for  interruptions,  the  red  rascals  do  n't  gin'ally  turn  up 
near  this  yere  spot.  Leastwise  I  never  seed  'em  heah. 
But,  ef  they  war  so  onprudent  as  to  cross  our  trail, 
we've  force  enough  to  put  'em  through,  like  wot  war 
never  known  before  in  these  pairts — augh  !" 

"  I  don't  doubt  your  readiness  to  do  all  that  man 
can  do,"  replied  the  gentleman  ;  "  but,  you  know  I  run 
a  great  risk  in  crossing  this  wilderness  with  so  many 
pieces  of  valuable  goods ;  and  that  the  safety  of  my 
family  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration/' 

"  It's  a  leetle  wonderful  to  me,"  answered  the  trap- 
per, "  that  the  young  squire  didn't 'gree  to  meet  you 
halfway,  on  'count  that  he's  pay  in'  'tention  to  yer  young- 
est darter.  Not  that  thar's  the  leastest  danger  o'  any- 
thing happenin'  to  her,  but  when  one  is  in  love,  ye  knows 
they're  kinder  anxious  'bout  the  lovely  object." 

The  gentleman  smiled  at  the  well-intended  officious- 
ness  of  the  rugged  hunter,  and  said, 
i  "  You  may  well  say  that,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances,Arthur  should  have  been  here  to  escort  Angela 
to  his  rural  home  in  the  desert;  but,  I  presume  he  has 
boe,n  detained  by  some  unforeseen  event." 

"  And  it  is  that  which  1  so  much  dread,  papa,"  said 
Angela,  who  overheard  the  last  part  of  their  conversa- 
tion : 

"  I'm  sure  th  it  nothing  but  .some  affair  of  pressing 
necessity  would  have  prevented  him  from  meeting  us 


MODOC  JACK.  39 

on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains  as  he  agreed  to  do." 
"  You  don't  know  how  many  events  are  liable  to  pre- 
vent a  journey,  Angela,"  returned  her  father,  "  a  brief 
illness,  a  slight  accident — anything,  in  short,  is  liable 
to  derange  one's  plans.  Besides  it  is  not  too  late  ;  he 
may  be  here  to-night." 

"  Still,  it  is  ominous,"  said  Lady  Winterton — for 
the  reader  has  doubtless  discovered  the  name  and  char- 
acter of  one  our  travelers — "  I  don't  by  any  means,  feel 
that  sense  of  security  which  this  good  man's  language 
imports.  I  must  even  add,  that,  since  we  have  been 
encamped  here.  I  saw  something  moving  among  the 
underwood  !" 

"  Now,  Priscilla,"  said  the  gentleman,  hastily  ;  "  do 
not  give  way  to  such  idle  apprehensions,  and  say  things 
that  are  calculated  to  alarm  the  girls ;  for,  you  know 
that  they  require  a  good  night's  rest  after  the  fatigue 
of  travel." 

"It  may  be  a  needless  apprehension,"  answered  the 
lady,  looking  at  Penelope,  who  had  shuddered  at  the 
mention  of  the  bushes  on  the  hill. 

"  Of  course  it  is  needless,"  resumed  Mr.  Winterton  ; 
"  this  guide  of  ours  here  is  too  well  acquainted  with 
the  customs  of  the  Indians  to  be  taken  at  unawares, 
and  he  knows  every  foot  of  ground  over  which  we  have 
traveled." 

We  shall  see  whether  the  guide  was  prepared  for 
the  anomalous  enterprise  of  our  hero,  who,  evidently 
scorned  the  beaten  track,  and  chose  to  make  his  own 
trail  while  accomplishing  his  pilgrimage  on  this  lower 
earth. 

A  rich  repast  was  soon  spread  on  the  green  ;  and, 


40  MODOC  JACK. 

Mr.  Winterton,  after  offering  thanks  as  a  good  Church 
of  England  man,  bade  the  company  lay  hold  and  re- 
plenish the  outward  man. 

The  trappers  and  servants  did  not  require  a  second 
bidding,  and  the  viands  and  liquors  disappeared  under 
their  jackets  with  amazing  facility. 

But  the  women  ate  sparingly,  and  were  evidently  in 
a  state  of  trepidation.  A  cloud  appeared  to  be  rest- 
ing on  their  spirits,  like  the  lowering  of  the  heavens 
before  a  storm,  and  this  reduced  their  appetites  to  the 
point  of  nibbling  a  little  cheese-cake,  and  playing  with 
preserves  with  the  point  of  their  spoons. 

At  length,  word  was  given  for  establishing  sentinels 
and  retiring  for  the  night. 

Half  a  dozen  trappers  took  the  first  watch,  and 
were  carefully  posted  on  as  many  points  of  the  com- 
pass, forming  a  circle  with  the  sleepers  in  the  centre. 

On  saying  good  riight,  Penelope  fell  upon  her 
mother's  neck,  and  declared  that  she  should  not  sleep 
a  wink  all  night. 

The  fair  Angela  contented  herself  with  asking  the 
protection  of  God,  and  then  she  fell  into  a  profound 
slumber. 

But  the  Lady  Winterton  was  too  anxious  for  the 
safety  of  her  husband  and  children  to  close  her  eyes. 

It  was  far  into  the  night,  when  the  sentinels  had 
been  changed  for  some  time  that  Lady  Winterton 
heard  a  challenge. 

"  Who  goes  there  ?"  said  a  voice  which  she  recog-< 
nised  as  that  of  one  of  the  trappers. 

Without  waiting  to  hear  more,  the  lady  immediately 
aroused  her  hushnnr?  nnd  r1!  tTiP  rpst  of  the  men. 


MODOC  JACK.  41 

all  sprang  upon  their  feet ;  but,  after  listening  a  few 
moments  and  hearing  nothing,  they  believed  that  it 
was  a  false  alarm,  and  they  lay  down  again. 

"  Really,  Priscilla,  said  Winterton  to  his  wife; 
"  you  have  broken  the  sleep  of  all  these  men  to  little 
purpose." 

"  I  think  not,"  said  she,  still  listening  "the  sentinel 
did  not  speak  for  nothing.  1  would  advise  you  all  to 
be  on  y<  ur  guard. 

Penelope,  who  was,  at  that  moment,  standing  by  her 
mother's  side,  suddenly  cried,  "Look  there!"  and 
she  pointed  off  into  the  gloom. 

All  turned  their  eyes  in  the  direction  indicated  by 
the  finger  of  Penelope,  but  they  saw  nothing. 

"  I  think,  ladies,  that  you  had  better  try  to  get  some 
sleep,"  said  Mr.  Winterton,  "  you  suffer  your  imagi- 
nations to  run  away  with  you.  Fancy  does  wander 
when  left  to  run  its  course  unrestrained,  and  you  have 
been  so  long  deprived  of  sleep  that  it  is  not  strange 
you  see  visions  where  others  see  only  darkness." 

But,  the  ladies  were  not  disposed  to  sleep. 

Even  Angela  was  now  up  and  listening,  with  her 
toother  and  sister. 

Nothing  was  seen  or  heard  for  fifteen  minutes,  when 
suddenly  an  arrow  whizzed  through  the  air,  and  coming 
unheralded  out  of  the  darkness,  passed  through  the 
brain  of  Mr.  Winterton  and  he  fell  dead  at  the  feet 
of  his  wife. 

She,  uttering  a  loud  scream,  fell  senseless  by  the 
side  of  her  husband. 

Of  course,  every  man  was  instantly  upon  his  feet, 


42  MODOC  JACK. 

and,  at  the  same  time,  the  dreaded  war-whoop  of  tha 
savages  was  heard. 

The  camp  was  immediately  surrounded  by  yelling 
savages,  and  arrows  flew  thick  int©  the  camp  wounding 
many. 

But  the  trappers  were  busy  with  their  rifles  and  the 
shrieks  of  wounded  Indians  filled  the  air. 

The  battle  became  general,  in  the  midst  of  which 
were  the  two  trembling  girls  Penelope  and  Angela — 
the  former  crying  and  wringing  her  hands,  while  the 
latter  was  bending  over  her  prostrate  mother,  and  en- 
deavoring to  restore  her  to  consciousness. 

Blood  flowed  in  profusion,  terrible  blows  were 
struck  as  the  combatants  engaged  hand  to  hand  ;  but 
the  savages  were  too  numerous  for  the  little  band  with 
whom  they  had  to  do,  and,  in  the  course  of  twenty 
minutes,  all  the  white  men  were  either  struck  down  or 
made  prisoners. 

As  soon  as  the  battle  was  over,  a  young  man,  who 
seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  assailants,  came  forward 
and  glaring  into  the  face  of  Penelope,  asked  her  if  she 
did  not  know  him. 

She  recognised  him  too  truly  as  Mahalala,  or  Jack 
whom,  when  a  boy,  she  had  treated  with  so  much 
harshness. 

Penelope  shuddered  at  this  fatal  recognition,  and  fell 
down  in  a  swoon. 

By  this  time,  Mrs.  Winterton  had  recovered  con- 
sciousness, and  her  wail  of  distress  over  her  dead  hus- 
band was  heart-rending. 

But,  the  captives  had  not  much  time  given  them  to 
indulge  in  unavailing  grief.  It  was  evident  that  Jack 


MODOC  JACK.  43 

was  apprehensive  of  an  attack  from  the  whites  and  the 
rescue  of  his  prisoners. 

The  latter  were  all  ordered  to  march ;  and,  they  set 
out  for  the  north,  closely  guarded. 

Three  years  passed  away,  and  nothing  had  been 
heard  of  Penelope,  Angela  or  any  of  the  survivors  of 
that  dreadful  battle,  with  the  exception  of  Joe  Raines, 
one  of  the  servants,  who  made  his  escape  just  as  the 
fight  ended,  and  carried  the  news  to  the  seacoast. 

At  the  end  of  that  three  years,  a  young  lady  made 
her  appearance  at  San  Fransiaco,  dressed  so  much  like 
a  squaw  that  she  was  generally  mistaken  for  one. 

On  being  questioned,  she  gave  her  name  as  Angela 
Winter  ton. 

There  were  several  persons  in  San  Francisco  who 
recollected  distinctly  the  attack  on  the  Winter  tons  and 
their  fellow  travelers  ;  but  it  had  been  the  general  be- 
lief that  the  survivors  of  the  battle  were  all  put  to 
death  by  their  captors. 

Therefore,  the  story  told  by  the  young  lady  in 
Indian  dress  was  not  generally  believed.  She  was 
pronounced  an  imposter  and  the  doors  of  all  respecta- 
ble houses  were  closed  against  her,  while  she  refused 
to  enter  the  abodes  of  the  vicious  or  the  vulgar. 

Finding  that  she  had  no  shelter  during  the  stormy 
season,  the  authorities  sent  her  to  prison  as  a  vagrant. 

There,  she  remained  some  weeks,  and  gradually  sank 
into  a  decline. 

Finally,  the  girl  was  pronounced  by  the  physician  to 
be  in  a  dying  state.  A  clergyman  then  call  to  see  her, 
and  to  him  sho  told  her  story. 


44  MODOC  JACK. 

According  to  the  story  told  by  this  girl  upon  her 
death-bed,  her  lover  Arthur  D had  set  out  accord- 
ing to  agreement  to  meet  her  and  to  escort  her  and  her 
friends  to  his  villa. 

But  he  was  waylaid  by  the  Indians  and  murdered* 
The  same  horde  of  savages  who  had  murdered  Arthur, 
attacked  Winterton's  band. — After  the  battle,  the 
prisoners  were  marched  North  a  few  miles  when  Jack 
expressed  his  determination  to  put  them  out  of  the 
way,  as  it  was  too  much  trouble  to  guard  and  feed 
them. 

Accordingly,  all  were  murdered  except  Penelope  and 
Angela ;  but,  they  had  little  cause  to  rejoice  in 
this  distinction,  as  Jack  soon  gave  them  to  understand 
that  Penelope  was  reserved  for  the  torture,  and  that; 
Angela  was  destined  to  be  his  wife,  he  having  loved 
her  from  the  first  moment  that  they  met. 

Angela  was  immediately  made  the  wife  of  Jack, 
sorely  against  her  will;  while,  a  stake  was  driven  into 
the  ground,  and  Penelope  was  chained  to  it. 

The  marriage  and  the  torturing  were  performed  on 
the  same  day,  and,  although  the  screams  of  Penelope, 
dying  in  terrible  agonies,  reached  the  ears  of  Angela, 
yet  she  declared  that  she  would  gladly  have  exchanged 
conditions  with  her  perishing  sister. 

She  lived  with  Jack  nearly  three  years  when  she 
made  her  escape,  and  after  many  vicissitudes,  and  nar- 
rowly escaping  starvation,  she  arrived,  more  dead  than 
alive,  at  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 

Such  was  the  story  of  the  dying  girl. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  there  was  not,  at  that 
time,  some  person  living  at  San  Francisco,  who  had 


MODOC  JACK.  45 

been  personally  acquainted  with  the  Winterton  family  ; 
as  he  would  have  b.  en  able  to  recognize  Angela  Win- 
terton  if  this  woe-begone  girl,  dying  in  a  prison,  was 
really  that  yo  ng  lady. 

It  is  too  late  to  learn  the  truth  now,  as  no  one  can 
tell  who  or  what  the  girl  was. 

Most  people  who  saw  her,  declared  that  she  could 
not  be  the  daughter  of  Winterton,  because  her  appear- 
ance and  manners  were  wanting  in  refinement,  and 
that  her  speech  was  not  that  of  an  educated  young  lady  ; 
"but,  much  allowance  must  be  made  for  three  years' 
residence  among  the  Indians,  the  wife  of  an  Indian,  and 
treated  during  all  that  time,  more  as  a  slave  than  as  a 
companion. 

The  writer  inclines  to  the  belief  that,  that  poor  girl 
who  died  in  a  San  Francisco  prison,  was  really,  Angela 
Winterton. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MODOC    JACK     AT    WAR. 

f  WE  have  now  learned  the  early  career  of  Modoc 
Jack  in  so  far  as  history  can  enlighten  us  on  that  sub- 
ject;  yet,  thi.«re  arc,  no  doubt,  many  events,  many 
broils,  ;»nd  buttles,  in  which  he  was  engaged  of  which 
no  record  has  been  preserved. 

Jack  acquired  popularity  with  his  tribe  by  his  wis- 
dom, his  diplomatic  management  of  affairs  with  the 
whites  and  by  his  rash  bravery. 


46  MODOC  JACK, 

Such  was  his  disposition  among  the  Modocs,  a  tribe 
of  savages  residing  on  Lost  River. 

The  chief  was  named  Sconches ;  and  although  he 
had  his  grievances,  his  father  having  been  shot  and 
killed  by  the  whites — in  which  respect  he  resembled 
Jack — yet  he  was  not  a  man  of  the  same  unyielding 
temperament  as  the  latter.  He  was  willing  to  take 
some  pains  and  to  make  some  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of 
leading  a  quiet  life. 

Some  actions  on  the  part  of  one  Ben  Wright,  raised 
a  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  Modocs  of  the  benevolent 
intentions  of  the  whites.  Troubles,  disputes,  and  hard 
thoughts  between  the  Indians  and  the  pale-faces  became 
quite  common.  Reprisals  were  taken  by  both  parties. 
The  whites  continued  to  flock  in  and  to  settle  the  coun- 
try in  the  region  of  Lost  River,  near  the  boundary  of 
Upper  California  an  I  Oregon,  until  a  disposition  pre- 
vailed to  send  the  Indians  to  a  reservation,  that  they 
might  be  prevented  from  stealing  from,  or  otherwise 
molesting  the  white  settlers.  The  Indian  commissioner, 
about  the  year  1864,  made  an  effort  to  get  the  Modocs 
upon  the  Yinax  reservation  on  Martin  River, in  Oregon, 
fifty  miles  north  of  Lost  River. 

This,  at  once,  raised  up  two  parties  among  the  Mo- 
docs, Schonches,  the  chief,  being  in  favor  of  going  to 
the  reservation,  while  Jack  opposed  it. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Jack  made  his  memor- 
able speech. 

!t  Brothers,"  said  he ;  "  the  time  has  come  fur  the 
Modocs  to  speak  aloud,  and  no  longer  to  hide  their 
faces  like  squaws.  What  do  you  expect  from  this  offer 
of  the  paleface?  Do  they  ask  you  to  leave  barren  grounds 


MODOC  JACK.  47 

where  there  is  nothing  to  eat — no  venison  to  procure, 
no  fish  to  catch,  and  to  go  to  excellent  hunting-grounds 
where  the  woods  are  full  of  deer  and  the  rivers  are 
choked  with  fish  ] 

"  No,  brothers,  they  want  the  pleasant  land  for 
ihemselves,  and  the  worthless  land  they  offer  to  you. 

"  Brothers,  the  time  is  come  for  the  Modocs  to  show 
these  palefaces  that  they  are  not  squaws  but  men,  we 
can  fight  as  our  fathers  have  done;  we  can  carry  scalps 
at  our  girdles  as  the  ancient  braves  of  our  tribe  were 
wont  to  do. 

"  Think  not,  that  I  amuse  you  with  idle  tal.k.  Our 
prophet — our  great  medicineman  has  had  a  vision,  in 
which  he  saw  my  mother  rising  from  the  grave,  my 
father  with  his  head  streaming  blood,  pointing  to  the 
settlements  of  the  palefaces,  and  calling  for  vengeance. 

"  Brothers,  the  Great  Spirit  is  on  the  side  of  those 
who  fight  for  their  homes,  their  lands,  their  wives,  and 
their  pappooses.  He  will  give  us  the  victory." 

Thus  Jack  went  on  exhorting  the  Modocs  to  resist 
the  palefaces  until  he  fired  them  with  the  utmost  enthu- 
siasm. 

But,  Jack  was  well  seconded  by  the  prophet  or  med- 
icine-man, also  by  a  number  of  half-breeds,  and  inter- 
ested white  men  who  stirred  them  up  to  fight  with,  the 
palefaces,  expecting  to  reap  a  plentiful  harvest  by  fish- 
ing in  troubled  waters. 

Finally,  after  a  great  deal  of  talk,  Sconches  consent- 
ed to  go  to  the  reservation,  and  he  set  out  with  about 
thirty  warriors,  with  their  squaws  and  pappooses. 

The  rest  of  the  tribe  remained,  intending  to  fight  it 


48  MODOC  JACK. 

out  with  the  whites  to  the  last,  and  these  chose  Jack  for 
chief. 

Then  it  was  that  Jack  drew  upon  himself  the  notice 
of  the  whites,  and  his  fame  began  to  be  carried  abroad. 
He  has  been  a  terror  to  the  white  settlers  ever  since. 
I  Captain  Jack  is,  at  the  present  time,  astern,  digni- 
fied man,  with  a  good  head,  though  like  all  Indians,  his 
forehead  is  low. 

His  complexion  is  dark — the  pure  copper  color — and 
his  eyes  are  black,  full  and  piercing.  His  hair  is  long, 
hanging  down  to  hisshoulders,and  he  is  of  course  desti- 
tute of  all  beard.  His  mouth  is  large,  and  its  shape 
indicates  firmness,  determination  and  a  great  deal  of 
character.  He  was  very  glad  to  see  visitors,  but  he  did 
not  show  it  by  his  manner.  When  he  shook  hands  it 
was  with  an  indifference  that,  to  one  unacquainted  with 
the  Indian  character,  would  seem  to  be  absolute  rude- 
ness. 

Besides  Jack  were  several   other  noted   characters, 
who  united  with  him  in  opposing  the  encroachments  of 
the  pale-faces.    Among  these  were  Scar-faced  Charley, 
the  next  noted  one  of  the  tribe.     He  has  a  Jewish  cast 
of  countenance,  his  nose  being   long  and  acquiline,  and 
his  face  thin  and  narrow.    He  has  a  terrible  scar  on  his 
right  cheek,  which,  but  for  his  natural  pleasant  express- 
ion, would  make  his  countenance  rather  repulsive.  He 
;  is  about  thirty-five  years  old,  and    is  regarded  as  the 
(bravest  Indian  in  the  tribe.     He  was  very  polite  to  his 
guests,  and  did  all  he  could  to  make  them  comfortable. 
Shack  Nasty  Jim  is  a  youngster  of  not  over  twenty 
or  twenty-two.   Hooker  Jim  had  a  bad  face,  and  though 
quite  young,  looked  as  if  he  could  be  guilty  of  anything. 


MODOG  JACK.  49 

The  doctor  was  decidedly  the  worst  looking  man  in  the 
whole  tribe.  His  face  was  absolutely  devilish — narrow, 
contracted,  with  a  little  eye  that  twinkled  its  wicked- 
ness, and  a  mouth  full  and  sensual.  It  was  a  counte- 
nance that  would  make  anybody  shudder.  ( 

Black  Jim  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  fellow,  but  one  1 
that  few  persons  would   care  to  meet  alone  on  a  dark 
night. 

When  it  was  found  that  Jack  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  Modocs,  great  efforts  was  made  to  prevail  upon 
him  and  the  rest  of  the  tribe  to  remove  to  the  reserva- 
tion where  Sch< inches  had  gone,  but  Jack  and  others 
only  went  to  examine  the  place,  and  having  discovered 
that  game  was  scarce  there,  they  expressed  their  prefer- 
ence for  the  plentiful  suoply  offish  in  Lost  River;  and 
so  they  went  back  to  their  old  home. 

But,  the  troubles  still  continued.  The  Borderers 
-hated  the  Indians,  and  they  made  no  secret  of  it,  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Indians  regarded  the  Borderers 
as  interlopers  on  their  own  domain  ;  and,  there  were  a 
plenty  of  mischievous  white  men  and  half  breeds  among 
the  Indians  who  did  their  best  to  keep  up  this  state  of 
feeling  among  them,  and  to  incite  them  to  make  in- 
cursions to  the  territory  of  their  white  neighbors. 

At  length,  in  the  fall  of  1867,  Mr.  Lindsay  Applegate  j 
induced  Captain  Jack  and  his  band  to  accept  the  hos-^ 
pitality  of  Uncle  Sam,  and  they  consequantly  moved 
up  to  Yiuax  reservation.     They  remained  there  during 
the    months     of      September,     October,     November, 
December,   and  January,  and   then  returned   to  their 
quarters  on  Lost  River,     The  Modocs  since  that  time 
lived  in  this  locality.     Last  summer  the  tribe  were 


60  MODOC  JACK. 

encamped  on  Lost  River  in  two  bands,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  river.  Another  band  of  the  same  tribe 
camped  near  Fairchild's  and  Dorris  ranches.  Messrs. 
Fairchild  and  Dorris  concluded  treaties  with  the  Indians 

*  and  were  allowed  to  feed  their  cattle  on  Butte  Creek 

f  Flat. 

The  first  treaty  was  made  with  Ike,  an  Indian  who 
claimed  the  right  over  that  section  of  the  country.  A 
second  treaty  was  made  with  Big  Jack,  and  finally  a 
third  with  Captain  Jack,  Sconches  and  others.  A  con- 
sideration was  paid  the  Indians  on  each  occasion.  Last 
fall  Mr.  Odincal,  the  present  Indian  Commissioner, 
annoyed  by  the  perpetual  complaints  of  Oregon  settlers, 
determined  to  remove  the  Modoc  Indians  to  Yinax  re- 
servation. A  combined  movement  was  consequently 
made  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  last  November.  There 
was  a  brisk  fight  between  the  United  States  troops  and 
Captain  Jack's  band,  in  which  upward  of  fifty  Indians 
and  several  soldiers  were  filled,  and  many  wounded. 
In  the  meantime  the  settlers  had  nearly  prevailed  on 
the  Curly-headed  Doctor's  band  to  go  to  the  reservation 
as  they  stated  that  Captain  Jack's  party  had  surren- 
dered ;  but  hearing  the  firing  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  they  refused  to  go,  and  presently  both  sides 

^  began  firing.  The  citizens  finally  retreated,  leaving 
one  of  their  party  dead  on  the  field,  and  the  Indian3 
state  the  whites  killed  a  squaw  and  two  papposses  in 
the  fight,  This  party  then  broke  loose  over  the  coun- 
try and  murdered  some  twelve  or  thirteen  white  set- 
tlers, and  then  going  round  the  northern  end  of  Tule 
or  Rhett  Lake,  joined  Captain  Jack  in  the  lava  beds. 
Captain  Jack  and  his  party  had  retreated  there  imme- 


MODOC  JACK.  61 

diately  after  their  fight  with  the  soldiers,  but  kept  on 
the  California  side  of  the  river,  and  went  into  the  lava 
beds  from  the  southern  side.  They  did  not  murder 
any  citizens  on  their  retreat,  and,  in  fact,  told  a  settler 
name  Samuel  Watson  to  go  home,  as  they  only  wajnfced 
to  fight  with  soldiers  not  settlers. 

The  Indians,  at  lasted,  started  back  for  the  mountains 
but  were,  however,  induced  to  return  to  their  settle- 
ment at  Fairchild's,  and  while  the  latter  was  arranging 
to  get  troops  to  protect  them  to  the  reservation,  they 
all  started  off  one  night  and  joined  Captain  Jack  in  the 
lava  beds,  reinforcing  Ins  command.  Captain  Jack  re- 
fused to  go  back  to  the-  reservation. 
The  principal  Peace  Commissionei  s  were  Mr.  Meacham, 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  and  Mr.  Dyer.  These  men  were  in 
favor  of  a  policy  similar  to  that  which  William  Peun 
and  his  friends  adopted  towards  the  Lituii-Lenape,  the 
•  Mingoes,  and  the  Shawnees,  at  the  time  they  settled 
Pennsylvania. 

But,  there  was  a  mighty  difference  in  the  two  cases. 
When  the  great  chiefs,  Metamequan  and  Tanirnend 
met  Penn  and  his  associates  under  the  big  tree  at 
Kensington,  they  looked  upon  a  people  who  did  not 
believe  in  war  of  any  kind — a  people  who  had  come 
among  them  unarmed,  and  who  had  the  full  power  to 
make  and  conclude  treaties  independent  of  any  other 
authority. 

The  Indians  saw  that  they  were  dealing  with  men  of 
peace  and  only  peace.  The  Quakers  trusted  the  Indians, 
and  the  Indians  trusted  them.  It  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  the  Quakers  to  go  away  to  meeting  and  to 
leave  their  little  children  at  home  in  the  care  of  Indians. 


52  MODOC  JACK. 

This  proved  that  when  the  natives  could  become  per- 
fectly convinced  of  the  peaceful  intentions  of  their 
white  neighbors,  they  also  were  disposed  to  be  peace- 
able. 

In  the  present  case,  everything  is  different.  Although 
Quakers  go  to  the  Indians,  yet  the  latter  well  know 
that  the  real  power  is  in  the  hands  of  others  ;  and  that 
the  military  are  at  hand  to  enforce  what  the  peace  com- 
missioners request.  They  see  the  bayonet  protruding 
from  under  the  Quaker's  drab  coat  tail,  as  one  detects 
the  sharp  nails  of  the  cat  under  the  soft  fur  of  her  paws. 

The  Indian  knows  that  if  the  gentle  patting  of  those 
paws  don't  produce  results  pleasing  to  the  Government 
at  Washington,  the  sharp  nails  will  appear. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  the  Indians  with  whom  the 
Pennsylvania  Quakers  had  to  deal,  had  not  been  tam- 
pered with  by  self-interested  scoundrels  who  wanted 
to  make  money  out  of  their  blood. 

Hence  the  labors  of  the  Peace  Commissioners  proved 
abortive,  and  Captain  Jack  persisted  in  remaining  with 
his  tribe,  in  the  lava  beds. 

These  lava  beds  present  a  strange  appearance.  If 
one  could  imagine  a  smooth,  solid  sheet  of  granite  ten 
miles  square  and  five  hundred  feet  thick  covering  re- 
sistless mines  of  gunpowder  scattered  at  irregular  in- 
tervals under  it — that  these  mines  are  exploded  sim- 
ultaneously, rending  the  whole  field  into  rectangular 
masses  from  the  size  of  a  match-box  to  that  of  a  church, 
heaping  the  masses  hi^h  in  some  places  and  leaving 
deep  chasms  in  others.  Following  the  explosion,  the 
whole  thing  is  placed  in  one  of  Vulcan's  crucibles  and 
heated  up  to  a  point  where  the  whole  begins  to  fuse 
and  run  together,  and  then  suifcred_tQ_cQpi. 


MODOC  JACK.  53 

ness  of  the  upper  surface  remains  as  the  explosion  left 
it,  while  all  below  is  honey-combed  by  the  crevices 
caused  by  the  cooling  of  the  melted  rock. 

From  the  top  of  one  of  these  stone  pyramids  an  In- 
dian can  shoot  a  man  without  even  exposing  a  square 
inch  of  himself.  He  can,  with  due  haste,  load  and  shoot 
a  common  muzzle-loading  rifle  ten  times  before  a  man 
can  scramble  over  the  rocks  and  chasms  between  the 
slain  and  the  slayer.  If,  at  this  terrible  expense  of 
life,  a  force  dislodges  him  from  his  cove,  he  has  only 
to  drop  into  and  follow. 

The  country  along  the  line  seperating  California  from 
Oregon,  in  which  the  lava  beds  are  situated,  has  been 
the  theatre  of  military  operations  against  the  Indians 
at  different  times  during  the  past  twenty  years.  It  has 
been  traversed  by  emigrants  who  settled  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  it  is  well  and  favorably  known  as  a  cattle 
range.  With  the  exception  of  the  irregular  volcanic 
region,  south  of  the  lakes,  the  land  has  been  surveyed 
and  laid  out  in  sections.  Still  very  little  accurate  in- 
formation can  be  had  concerning  the  retreat  where  the 
Modocs  have  continued  to  defy  the  power  of  the  gov- 
ernment. It  is  known,  however,  to  be  cut  up  with  lis- 
ures,  yawning  abysses,  lakes,  high  mountains  covered 
with  snow  and  abounding  with  caves.  The  lava  beds 
cover  an  area  of  100  square  miles.  They  appear  to 
have  been  brought  into  existence  by  upheavals  from 
below.  The  roughness  of  the  upper  surface  remains, 
while  all  underneath  is  honey -co  in  bed  by  cracks  and 
crevices.  The  largest  cave  is  known  as  Ben  Wright's 
Cave. 

It  contains  fifteen  acres  of  open  space  under  ground, 


54  MODOC  JACK. 

in  which  there  is  a  good  spring  ana  many  openings 
through  which  a  man  can  crawl,  the  main  entrance 
being  about  the  size  of  a  common  window.  In  this 
cave,  Jack  and  his  followers  fortfified  themselves.  The 
gulches  and  crevices  range  from  a  few  feet  to  one  hun- 
dred feet  iii  width;  and  many  of  them  are  one  hundred 
feet  deep.  The  Indians  can  travel  through  all  these 
lava  beds  by  trails  only  known  to  themselves,  and 
stand  on  bluffs  over  persons  fifty  yards  beneath  and 
where  it  would  require  a  long  journey  to  go  to  them. 
They  can  see  men  coming  at  a  distance  of  five  miles 
without  being  visible  themselves.  They  also  can  per- 
mit their  pursuers  to  come  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
bluff  and  shoot  down  and  retire,  if  necessary,  to  other 
similar  bluifs.  If  pressed  too  closely  the  Indians  can 
follow  some  subterranean  passage,  with  which  they  are 
fully  acquainted,  and  gain  another  ambush  from  which 
it  would  cost  ten  lives  to  dislodge  them. 

In  the  lava  beds,  are  a  number  of  small  plots  abun- 
dantly supplied  with  bunch  grass. 

The  troops  are  well  posted  so  as  to  prevent  the  In- 
dians escaping.  Their  only  line  of  retreat  would  seem 
to  be  in  a  southerly  direction  into  the  Pitt  River  Moun- 
tains. The  tribes  in  that  quarter  are  of  a  warlike 
character  and  have  given  the  government  considerable 
trouble  in  times  past.  In  1858  and  1859  their  am- 
bushes were  so  effective  and  their  manner  of  warfare 
so  advantageous  that  at  first  very  litte  progress  was 
made  iri  reducing  them  to  submission. 

The  Pitt  River  savages,  when  pressed  closely,  would 
take  to  their  canoes  and  paddle  to  the  islands  in  the 
lakes,  where  they  could  not  be  followed. 


MODOC  JACK.  £5 

After  much  care  and  trouble  several  boats  were 
built  and  transferred  across  the  lava  beds,  and  the 
Indians  were  cut  off  from  these  hiding  places.  One  of 
the  latest  measures  of  precaution  taken  by  General 
Canby  was  to  place  boats  on  Tule  Lake. 

The  troops,  in  pursuing  the  Modocs,  had  to  follow 
them  on  foot,  and  in  passing  through  the  gulches  and 
crevices  must  expect  to  find  the  enemy  on  the  high 
bluffs  above  them  at  every  point,  or  making  their  way 
through  concealed  passages  to  secure  retreat.  The 
cannon  and  howitzers  commanded  all  approaches  to 
and  from  the  cave. 

The  peculiar  geological  features  of  the  lake  country 
in  California  resemble  the  county  Antrim,  in  Ireland, 
in  which  is  located  the  celebrated  Giants'  Causeway. 

The  scientific  interest  of  the  latter  is  enhanced  by 
the  beauties  of  its  terraced  formations  and  its  great 
richness  and  variety  of  coloring.  Like  the  lava  beds, 
the  basalt  is  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
thickness,  and  like  them,  too,  the  pillars,  caves,  wells, 
&c.,  in  the  Giants'  Causeway,  appear  to  be  the  result 
of  some  great  convulsion  of  nature,  an  upheaval  equal 
to  the  effect  of  the  explosion  of  vast  quantities  of  gun- 
powder placed  underneath  the  surface.  Miners  have 
not,  heretofore,  explored  the  lava  beds,  but  no  doubt 
there  will  be  a  thorough  examination  of  this  volcanic 
tract,  which  will  always  remain  identified  with  a  piece 
of  very  black  Indian  perfidy. 

In  this  delightful  country  Jack  lived  like  an  Italian 

Once  in  this  basin  there  is  but  one  way  out,  and  that 
is  by  the  trail  we  entered. 

There  are   other   ways  out,  but  they  are  by  tunnels 


56  MODOC  JACK, 

leading  to  the  many  caves  or  sink  holes  in  another  part 
of  the  lava  bed,  and  which  will  be  more  fully  described 
further. 

On  the  outside  of  this  basin  there  is  a  succession  of 
ridges  as  high  as  that  which  enclose  it,  but  these  do  not 
extend  all  the  way  around.  To  the  west  of  the  basin 
is  a  flat,  table-like  surface  of  lava,  extending  from  the 
very  summit  of  its  rim  clear  back  for  more  than  a 
mile. 

In  this  level  place  are  the  sink  holes  or  caves  formed 
thousands  of  years  ago,  perhaps  in  the  cooling  of  this 
immense  body  of  molten  earth. 

The  openings  of  the  holes  are  very  small ;  indeed 
one  does  not  see  them  until  he  has  almost  fallen  in. 
But  they  widen  as  they  go  down. 

One  can  pick  his  way  to  the  bottom  without  diffi- 
culty. Most  of  these  caves  are  connected  with  each 
other  and  with  the  larger  basin  by  subterraneous  pas- 
sages, so  that  one  can  go  for  half  a  mile  in  the  bed  with- 
out coming  to  the  surface  at  all. 

This  is  of  incalculable  benefit  in  defending  the  strong, 
hold,  for  one  man  can  keep  one  hundred  at  bay  almost 
anywhere  in  it  without  fear  of  being  smoked  out  or 
having  retreat  cut  off. 

After  supper — which,  by  the  way,  was  shared  with 
a  keen  relish  by  about  a  dozen  naked  Indian  babies 
— Bogus  Charley  came  and  said  he  would  conduct  us 
to  Captain  Jack. 

So  the  whole  party  gathered  up  their  blankets  and 
followed. 

Charley  led  the  way  right  up  one  side  of  the  basin, 
through  a  little  trail  not  easy  of  ascent  by  unpracticed 


MODOC  JACK.  57 

feet,  and  across  the  level  place  about  fifty  yards,  when 
we  came  suddenly  to  the  mouth  of  a  pit  hole  at  least 
forty  feet  deep. 

The  hole  inclined  as  it  led  downward,  and  at  the  bot- 
tom widened  and  formed  a  perfect  cave,  extending  un--. 
der  the  rock  at  least  fifty  feet.  ^ 

At  the  mouth  of  the  cave  proper,  but  yet  thirty  or 
forty  feet  below  the  surface  a  piece  of  canvas  was 
stretched. 

This  was  Captain  Jack's  front  door,  and  the  cave 
behind  it  was  his  abiding  place — the  palace  of  the 
Modoc  king. 

Behind  the  canvas  we  could  see  a  bright  fire  burning, 
and  nearly  the  whole  tribe  encircled  around  it,  ready 
for  the  talk,  which  they  knew  was  to  come. 

The  descent  into  the  cave  was  somewhat  perilous, 
but  by  a  vigorous  clinging  to  the  rocks  and  careful 
stepping,  we  managed  to  reach  the  canvas.  Then, 
throwing  that  back,  we  stood  in  the  presence  of  Cap- 
tain Jack.  It  was  easily  seen  that  he  was  sick. 

His  eyes  were  dull,  cheeks  emaciated,  and  he  was  so 
weak  he  could  not  stand,  but  remained  reclining  on  a 
huge  pile  of  bear  skins,  with  his  two  wives  by  his 
side. 

Mr.  Steele  went  up  to  him  and  shook  hands  warmly,' 
so  he  did  the  rest  of  the  party. 

Then  passing  completely  around  the  circle,  all  shook 
hands  with  the  entire  tribe.  This  ceremony  lasted 
several  minutes,  and,  when  finished,  we  were  furnished 
seats  in  the  circle,  near  Captain  Jack. 

The  only  wood  in  the  lava  bed  is  sage  brush ;  but 
this  was  piled  on  the  fire  with  an  unsparing  huiiJ,  and 


68  MODOC  JACK. 

the  flames  shot  upward,  and  illuminated  the  cave  bril- 
liantly. 

Then  each  member  of  our  party  lighted  his  pipe, 
and,  after  taking  a  whiff  or  two,  passed  it  around  to  the 
right,  beginning  with  Captain  Jack,  who  took  a  whifl 
and  passed  it  on  to  the  next,  and  so  on. 

In  such  a  large  circle,  of  course,  one  pipeful  would 
not  go  round,  and  so  when  it  got  smoked  out,  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  bring  it  back  to  be  refilled,  and  then 
send  it  on  to  complete  its  journey. 

During  this  ceremony  not  a  word  was  spoken,  and 
so  the  correspondent  had  abundant  time  to  take  a  good 
look  at  the  savages.  Captain  Jack  was  the  central 
figure,  and  attaracted  the  most  attention." 

The  Warm  Spring  Indians  are  a  band  of  friendly 
Indians  brought  frorn  the  Warm  Springs  reserve  in 
Oregon  and  were  entrusted  with  an  important  duty. 

They  acted  as  scouts  and  also  to  intercept  any  move- 
ment of  the  Modocs  to  escape  in  a  southerly  direction. 

These  Indians  are  known  as  the  confederated  bands 
in  Middle  Oregon,  and  comprise  seven  of  the  Walla 
Wallas,  Wacos,  Teninoz  and  Deschutes  tribes,  number- 
ing 626  men,  women  and  children.  The  leader,  Donald 
McKenzie,  is,  no  doubt,  a  half-breed,  and  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  mode  of  warfare  Jack  and  his  party 
adopted. 

The  Warm  Springs  reservation  contains  over  a  mil- 
lion acres,  located  in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  and 
the  tract  of  country  is  such  that  nobody  wants  it. 

The  tillable  portion  occupied  by  the  Indians  consists 
of  five  hundred  acres,  and  though  even  this  portion  is 
not  very  good  land  many  of  the  families,  by  reason 


MODOC  JACK.  59 

of  their  industry,  have  succeeded  measurably  in  their 
farming  operations,  and  are  considered  self-sustaining. 


CHAPTER  VI- 
NO  PEACE. 

After  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  perceived  that 
Mahala,  known  as  Captain  Jack,  remained  true  to  the 
oath  made  to  his  mother  in  the  old  ruin  at  Saint  Bar- 


However  he  might  temporize,  and  however  often  he 
might  hold  au  talk"  with  the  men  of  the  long  knife,  he 
was  steadily  and  inveterately  hostile  to  the  palefaces. 

He  might  make — or  pretend  to  make — treaties  with 
the  whites,  but  he  would  never  abide  by  them. 

We  have  seen  that  the  trouble  with  the  Modoc  In- 
dians commenced  as  far  back  as  1872. 

At  that  time  the  Modocs  were  prowling  around  Lost 
River,  on  the  banks  of  which  romantic  stream  they  had 
their  camp.  They  were  great  cattle  thieves,  and  an- 
noyed the  Oregon ian  settlers  terribly,  and  occasionally 
a  settler  would  settle  a  Modoc,  or  vice  versa*  There 
was  always  some  shooting  going  on  between  the  tribe 
and  the  whites. 

The  government  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  to  put 
its  Modoc  children  in  the  Klamath  Reservation.  The 
Modocs  were  informed  of  this  action  of  their  Great 
Father  at  Washington,  but  they  positively  refused  to 
go.  They  wanted  to  stay  where  they  were—  they  did 
not  wish  Lost  River  to  become  lost  to  them. 


60  MODOC  JACK. 

When  the  government  was  told  of  the  Modoc  stand 
it  was  decided  to  use  force  as  long  as  moral  suasion 
didn't  work. 

So  on  the  28th  day  of  last  November,  Major  Jack- 
son, of  company  B,  First  cavalry,  with  thirty-five  men, 
moved  on  their  camp  at  Lost  River. 

The  Indians  had  scented  danger  in  the  air  and  were 
on  their  guard  and  their  muscle.  Each  hideous  face 
was  besmeared  with  pigments,  and  each  brawny  hand 
grasped  a  rifle.  There  were  no  bow  and  arrow  Indians, 
decked  in  guady  blankets  and  moccasins,  and  with  ea- 
gles' feathers  twisted  in  their  scalp  locks. 

Our  red  brethren  meant  business,  and  nothing  short- 
er. 

They  were  a  band  of  seventy-five  ugly  looking 
wretches,  with  old  shoes  and  overcoats  on,  and  armed 
with  Springfield  rifles,  revolvers  and  bowie  knives. 
They  were  the  Indians  of  the  period. 

A.  lively  fight  took  place  at  Lost  River,  which  re- 
sulted in  a  victory  for  the  United  States  over  the  Mo- 
doc  nation. 

Captain  Jack  lost  fifteen  braves,  and  Uncle  Sam  lost 
one  soldier.  After  the  fighting  Jack,  his  band,  squaws 
and  pappooses  retreated  to  the  Lava  beds. 

Atter  this  defeat  of  the  Modocs,  Captain  Jack  de- 
livered a  stirring  address  to  his  followers  which,  for 

O  ' 

its  effect  upon  his  auditors  might  be  compared  to 
Robert  Bruce's  address  to  his  army  jusl  before  the 
battle  of  Bannockburn. 

All  sorts  of  skirmishing  was  kept  up  from  that 
time  until  January  seventeenth  of  the  present  year. 

The  government  of  the  United  States,  satisfied  that 


MODOC  JACK.  61 

it  was  at  war  with  a  nation  maintaining  an  army  of 
sixty  unwashed  Indians,  was  very  cautious  in  its  ad- 
vances. 

Three  hundred  blue  coats  moved  upon  the  Modocs  ; 
a  desperate  struggle  took  place,  which  resulted  in  a 
victory  for  his  highness  Captain  Jack. 

Our  forces  retired  in  bad  order,  and  Captain  Jack 
and  his  dusky  crew  took  to  their  beds  again. 

Attempts  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  come  to 
a  peaceful  understanding  with  the  Modocs. 

The  First  Commission,  composed  of  Mr.  A.  B. 
Meacham,  Jesse  Applegate,  Samuel  Chase  and  Oliver 
Applegate,  Indian  Agent  at  Yianax,  as  clerk,  met  at 
Fail-child's  ranche  about  the  middle  of  February  last. 

Mr.  Steele  and  Mr.  Fairchild,  both  old  settlers,  were 
engaged  to  assist  them  in  their  negotiations  with  Cap- 
tain Jack. 

After  much  unsatisfactory  discussion  in  council  the 
following  terms  were  offered  to  the  Modocs  through 
Mr.  Steele  : — 

First — To  surrender  to  General  Canby  and  receive 
full  amnesty  for  the  past. 

Second — To  be  removed  to  Angel  Island,  where 
they  are  to  be  fed  with  soldiers'  allowance  and  clothed 
until  a  new  home  can  be  provided  for  them  and  they 
are  able  to  support  themselves  in  it. 

Third — To  be  furnished  by  General  Canby  with 
transportation  for  their  women  and  children  to  the 
island,  and  thence  to  their  new  home,  perhaps  in 
Arizona. 

Fourth— General  Canby  is  of  the  opinion  that  he 
can  promise  that  Jack  and  some  of  his  head  men  should 


62  MODOC  JACK. 

go  to  visit  the  President,  and  that  the  President  will 
permit  them  to  select  for  themselves  a  new  home  in  a 
warmer  climate. 

They  had  a  long  talk  over  the  matter  ;  but  from  the 
first  evinced  a  marked  dislike  to  leaving  the  home  of 
their  forefathers,  and  finally  sent  back  word  by  Mr. 
Steele  that  they  would  only  live  in  their  own  country 

General  Canby  was  opposed  to  granting  the  claims 
of  the  Modocs,  and  gave  the  following  reasons  : 

First — They  cannot  live  there  without  stealing,  as 
their  country  produces  nothing  for  their  support. 

Second — If  the  government  intends  to  feed  them  it 
will  cost  200  percent  more  in  the  Lava  beds  than  on 
any  other  reservation  of  a  more  appropriate  nature. 

Third — The  country  will  be  perpetually  disturbed 
by  quarrels  between  the  Oregon  settlers  and  the  In- 
dians ;  and 

Fourth — Such  acquiescence  to  all  their  wishes,  after 
the  United  States  troops  had  received  a  whipping, 
would  be  an  encouragement  to  the  Snakes  and  Pitnes, 
already  disaffected,  to  make  war  and  demand  their  own 
terms. 

The  second  Commission  composed  of  Meacham, 
Judge  Roseborough,  Mr.  Thomas,  and  Mr.  D)ar,  was 
as  unsuccessful  as  the  previous  one.  Several  inter- 
views were  held  with  the  Indians,  and  Mr.  Meacham 
sent  a  dispatch  to  Washington  in  which  he  stated  the 
principal  impediment  to  peace  negotiations  was  the 
fear  that  the  Indians  indicted  by  the  Jackson  County 
Grand  Jury  would  be  given  up  for  punishment.  Mea- 
cham adds  : — 

"  The  Peace  Commissioners  and  military  are  work- 


MODOC  JACK.  63 

ing  together  harmoniously  sad  to  overcome  the 
distrust  of  the  Modocs.  But  difficulty  is  encountered 
from  the  intervention  of  bal  white  men,  who,  from 
mercenary  motives,  desire  a  prolongation  of  the  war. 

"The  desire  of  the  government  is  well  understood 
by  my  colleagues  and  the  military,  and  no  means  will 
be  left  untried  to  secure  peace-.'' 

There  were  at  this  time  about  six  hundred  United 
States  troops  in  the  neighborhood, stationed  in  different 
detachments.  General  Canby,  commander  of  the  dis- 
trict of  the  Pacific,  and  the  United  States  Peace  Com- 
missioners, used  every  means  in  their  power  to  arrange 
peace  with  the  Modocs. 

In  their  efforts  in  this  direction  they  were  not  aided 
by  the  Governor  of  Oregon,  who  strongly  protested 
against  a  peace.  The  Governor  was  in  favor  of  a 
war  of  extermination  against  the  savages.  Captain 
Jack  continued  to  make  things  lively.  He,  among  other 
audacious  acts,  burned  a  log  hut  in  view  of  the  troops, 
A  message  was  sent  to  the  Indians  stating  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  General  Grant,  had 
heard  about  the  war  and  was  very  sorry  his  children 
were  fighting. 

He  looked  upon  all  the  people,  of  every  color,  as  his 
children,  and  did  not  want  them  to  spill  each  other's 
blood. 

He  thought  this  might  have  been  a  misunderstanding 
between  the  whites  and  the  Indians,  and  he  wanted  to 
see  about  it. 

That  he  was  trying  to  have  a  new  kind  of  law  made 
that  would  do  away  with  war,  a.id  that's  why  he  said 
"  stop  until  we  talk  awhile." 


64  MODOC  JACK. 

The  Modocs  refused  all  offers  of  peace,  and  the  Com- 
mission proved  a  total  failure.  A.  B.  Meacham,  of 
the  Commission,  telegraphed  these  facts  to  Columbus 
Delano,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  at  Washington. 

On  the  20th  of  March  it  was  decided  to  surround 
f  the  Indian  camp,  and  reinforcements  were  ordered  to 
the  lava  beds. 

In  tho  meantime  it  was  reported  that  the  Modocs 
were  quarrelling  among  themselves,  and  that  they  had 
laid  a  plot  to  assassinate  Captain  Jack.  Renewed  ef- 
forts were  made,  time  and  again,  to  bring  about  a  peace, 
as  the  United  States  authorities  were  opposed  to  blood- 
shed. 

About  the  1st  of  April  there  was  a  conference  with 
the  Modocs,  which  lasted  several  hours,  and,  at  the  re- 
quest of  Captain  Jack,  only  Judge  Roseborough,  Mr. 
Meacham  and  Mr.  John  Fairchild  were  present. 

There  were  ten  or  twelve  of  the  leading  Modocs  with 
Captain  Jack. 

Judge  Roseborough  commenced  the  talk  by  explain- 
ing to  the  Indians  the  position  they  were  in,  and  how 
he  had  come  from  Yrekato  try  and  make  peace. 

Captain  Jack  and  John  Shonchin  in  reply  reiterated 
their  determination  to  remain  where  they  were.  They 
-  gave  up  the  claim  to  Lost  River,  and  said  they  would 
be  satisfied  to  remain  in  the  lava  beds. 

The  U.  S»  cavalry  then  commenced  reconnoitering 
with  a  view  to  active  aggressive  movements.  The  In- 
dians said  they  would  have  "  no  more  talk,"  Captain 
Jack  was  very  furious  and  defiant. 

The  Indians  built  rock  fortifications  and  otherwise 
prepared  themselves  for  a  desperate  resistance.  The 


MODOC  JACK.  65 

U.  S.  troops  were  held  in  readiness  to  move  on  the  lava 
beds  in  force. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PREPARING     FOR     BATTLE. 

IT  will  be  now  seen  that  Modoc  Jack  ,was  bent  up- 
on carrying  out  his  principle. 

Although  he  might  have  a  talk  with  the  whites,  and 
might  agree  to  certain  terms,  in  so  far  as  words  were 
concerned,  yet  when  it  came  to  the  point,  he  was  found 
lacking. 

His  mother's  bones  were  still  white  before  his  eyes  ; 
and,  in  addition  to  this  fatal  reminiscence,  was  the  fact 
that  three  Indian  chiefs  who  entered  the  camp  of  two 
white  men  to  procure  food,  had  been  ruthlessly  shot 
dead  without  any  provocation  whatever. 

Mr.  William  Welsh,  a  gentleman  who  for  years  had 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  Indians,  and  who  was 
the  originator  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners, 
said  that  he  believed  Captain  Jack  to  be  as  honorable 
a  man  as  could  be  found  anywhere,  and  that  if  he 
sometimes  acted  in  a  hostile  manner,  he  only  imitated 
the  conduct  of  the  white  western  men. 

Mr.  Welsh  also  stated  that  he  did  not  look  upon 
the  Modocs  as  being  "  a  dirty,  miserable  set/'  but  that 
he  thought  them  very  respectable  and  honest  people 
until  they  came  in  contact  with  the  whites,  when  they 
degenerated.  The  people  on  the  border  are  their 


66  MODOC  JACK. 

bitter  enemies,  and  Mr.  Welsh  wondered  that  the 
Indians  were  not  worse  than  they  were. 

We  now  approached  the  period  when  General  Canby, 
,Mr.  Meacham  and  Dr.  Thomas  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Indian  Chiefs,  and  we  will  preface  the  account  of  this 
fatal  interview  with  a  brief  sketch  of  those  gentle- 
men : — 

General  Edward  Richard  Spigg  Canby  of  the  United 
States  Army  was  born  in  Kentucky  in  the  year  1819. 

He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1839  and  served  in 
the  Florida  war  from  that  year  to  1842,  and  was  made 
Assistant  Adjutant  General  with  the  rank  of  captain 
March  3,  1847,  and  was  distinguished  at  Cerro  Gordo. 

He  was  appointed  brigadier  general  U.  S.  Army  July 
28,  1866.  During  the  reconstruction  campaign  he 
commanded  successively  the  Fifth  and  First  Military 
districts,  and  was  dually,  in  command  of  the  depart- 
ment of  Columbia,  with  headquarters  at  Portland, 
Oregon. 

Mr.  Meacham  is  a  prominent  citizen  in  Oregon,  anc| 
an  intimate  personal  and  political  friend  of  Attorney 
General  Williams,  at  whose  suggestion  he  was  appoint* 
ed  one  of  the  Peace  Commissioners  to  visit  the  Modocs 
and  see  if  some  arrangement  could  not  be  made  by 
which  a  war  with  this  band  could  be  averted.  He  was 
for  several  years  and  until  recently  Superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  for  Oregon.  It  appears  that  the  appoint- 
ment, though  made  with  the  best  intentions,  was  an 
unfortunate  one,  as  the  Indians  were  particularly  in- 
censed against  him,  looking  upon  him  as  the  originator 
and  cause  of  their  removal  from  their  old  homes  to  the 
i%eservation  from  which  they  fled. 


MODOC  JACK.  67 

Rev.  Eleazar  Thomas,  D.  D.  of  the  California  Con* 
ference,  was  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Methodist 
Church  in  the  Petaluma  Circuit,  State  of  California. 
The  fervent  piety,  the  unswerving  fidelity,  the  zealous 
ministrations,  and  the  Christian  gentleness  of  Dr. 
Thomas,  all  manifested  through  long  and  varied  services 
to  the  church,  have  graven  his  name  deeply/  upon  the 
heart  and  history  of  American  Methodism. 

The  following  was  the  situation  of  affairs  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  March. 

The  prospect  of  peace  with  the  Modoc  Indians  was 
not  very  promising,  as  they  appeared  to  grow  more 
independent  every  day,  and  consequently  more  grasp- 
ing in  their  demands. 

Mr.  Meacham  still  represented  the  Peace  Commis- 
sion at  Van  Bremer's  and  was  joined  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Thomas,  a  newly  appointed  member  sent  by  the  Indian 
'bureau  to  practise  the  theory  of  moral  suasion. 

Mr.  Dyer  was  expected  from  Oregon  every  day. 
Judge  Roseborough  would  come  as  soon  as  he  could 
leave  his  court  at  Shasta.  Great  things  were  expected 
from  the  new  peace  delegates.  The  Modocs  were 
firmly  imbued  with  the  belief  they  could  "  lick"  all  the 
soldiers  that  could  be  brought  against  them,  and  con- 
sequently intended  remaining  where  they  are. 

As  General  Canby  was  evidently  getting  rather  tired 
of  peace  manipulations  the  troops  would  soon  be  mov- 
ed into  position  surrounding  the  lava  beds,  and  then 
some  aggressive  movement  would  be  made  in  order  to 
impress  the  Modocs  with  an  idea  of  the  number  of  sold- 
iers that  could  be  brought  against  them.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  mortars  would  have  a  very  salutary 


68  MODOC  JACK. 

effect  on  their  weak  nerves,  as  in  the  last  fight  they  ex- 
pressed considerable  curiosity  about  the  guns  that 
"  shot  twice." 

On  this  occasion,  however,  only  a  few  shots  were  fir- 
ed from  the  howitzers,  and  none  of  them  took  effect, 
only  one  shell  bursting  within  the  neigborhood  and  that 
about  one  hundred  feet  above  their  heads., 

A  reconnoissance  of  the  lava  beds  was  made  in  force. 
The  object  of  the  scout  was  to  give  General  Canby 
and  Gillern  a  chance  to  examine  the  country  with  a 
view  to  selecting  a  camp  on  Tula  Lake,  somewhere  near 
the  foot  of  the  bluff. 

General  Canby  and  aid-de-camp,  together  with 
Capt.  Anderson,  Major  Mason  and  others  left  Van  Bre- 
nner's at  half  past  six  A.  M.  and  met  General  Gillem, 
Colonel  Perry  and  others  at  the  bridge  over  Willow 
creek. 

The  entire  force,  numbering  over  one  hundred  rank 
and  file,  then  followed  the  trail  to  the  top  of  the  bluff 
overlooking  the  lava  beds  and  were  then  dismounted. 
They  arrived  at  this  post  about  noon,  and  Generals 
Canby  and  Gillem  got  out  their  field  glasses  and  took 
a  good  look  at  the  Java  beds  that  lay  directly  beneath 
them  .  The  Indians  were  seen  there  moving  about  as 
if  in  rather  excited  state,  and  gathering  in  about  twelve 
or  fifteen  horses  that  were  scattered  over  the  plains. 

Presently  three  or  four  of  them  took  up  a  position 
on  a  ledge  ot  rock,  about  a  mile  from  the  foot  of  the 
bluffs,  which  appeared  to  be  their  first  line  of  fortifica- 
tions. 

General  Canby  now  received  a  message  from  the 
Indians,  that  Captain  Jack  and  Schonchin  would  t*-\k- 


MODOC  JACK.  69 

with  General  Canby  and  Gillem  at  the  juniper  tree, 
half  way  between  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  and  their  pre- 
sent position. 

The  Indians  occupied  a  fortification  of  about  thirty 
feet  front.  It  was  originally  a  wall  of  rock  about 
twenty  feet  high,  with  a  projecting  ledge  about  ten  feet 
from  the  ground.  On  the  edge  of  this  ledge  they  had 
built  a  breastwork  of  loose  rocks,  about  four  feet  high, 
which  allowed  them  a  space  about  three  feet  deep  to 
work  in,  with  the  main  rock  at  their  backs.  They 
were  all  armed,  two  with  Springfield  rifles,  one  with  a 
Spencer  carabine  and  the  other  with  an  old-fashioned 
Kentucky  rifle. 

Jack  did  not  show  any  very  great  eagerness  for  an 
interview  and  thought  Gen.  Can  by  had  better  come 
where  he  was. 

But,  when  two  hostages  were  left  behind,  he  seemed 
.better  satisfied  and  started  to  meet  the  Generals  ac- 
companied by  Scar-Faced  Charley,  Steamboat  Frank, 
the  Curly-Headed  Doctor,  and  three  others. 

The  interview  took  place.  Captain  Jack  was  not 
very  welt  satisfied  with  it ;  he  said  that  he  wanted  peace. 

On  the  way  back  General  Can  by  said  that  he  did 
not  think  Jack  wanted  peace  unless  he  could  get  Lost 
River.  Captain  Jack  told  him  as  he  was  going  away 
that  if  he  had  anything  to  give  him  he  could  send  it 
down  to  the  lava  beds.  General  Canby  asked  him  why 
they  did  not  come  out  and  meet  the  wagons  according 
to  their  own  proposal,  and  to  that  question  he  could 
not  get  an  answer.  The  General  was  of  the  opinion 
that  nothing  could  be  done  with  the  Modocs  until  they 
had  experienced  the  power  of  the  troops  and  thorough- 
ly understood  their  position. 


70  MODOC  JACK. 

What  was  done  after    this     interview    of  General  . 
Canby  with  Modoe  Jack  may  be  best  understood  by 
the  following  letter  from  the  seat  of  war,  under  date  of 
March  26,  1873  :— 

^  The  Lost  River  troops  marched  last  Sunday  from 
their  old  camp  and  are  now  located  on  the  east  side  of 
Tule  Lake  about  three  miles  from  Captain  Jack's  cave. 
The  howitzers,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Charin, 
are  with  them.  General  Gillem  and  the  two  troops  of 
cavalry  at  Dorris  are  expected  at  Van  Bremer's  to- 
morrow, and  in  a  few  days  all  the  troops  from  the 
latter  place  will  move  into  camp  at  Tule  Lake,  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluffs,  about  two  and  one-half  miles  this 
side  of  Captain  Jack's  cave.  The  Modocs  will  then  be 
between  the  two  camps.  Major  Mason  is  in  command 
on  the  east  side  and  Major  Green  will  take  charge  on 
this  side.  Jf  the  Peace  Commissioners  do  not  succeed 
with  "moral  suasion,"  General  Canby  will  probably 
try  the  power  of  the  military.  The  attack  will  be 
made  in  skirmishing  order,  quietly,  but  firmly,  and  the 
troops  will  take  their  blankets  and  hold  their  position 
during  the  night.  Under  cover  of  night  they  will  be 
supplied  with  rations  and  fresh  water.  The  mortars 
will  cover  the  advance  of  the  troops  and  keep  shelling 
Captain  Jack's  stronghold  day  and  night.  These  tactics 
will,  I  am  satisfied,  have  more  effect  upon  Captain  Jack 
and  his  band  than  all  the  "  moral  suasion"  of  the  Peace 
Commission  an 3  Indian  Burean  combined.  I  return  to 
Van  Bremer's  tomorrow  morning. 
•  From  all  this,  the  conclusion  is  patent  that  the 
attempts  at  pacifying  the  Mo  Joes  were  abortive. 


MODOC  JACK.  71 

They  had  their  own  private  reasons  for  not  being 
pacified. 

They  saw  that  if  they  did  not  consent  to  the  propor- 
sals  of  the  peace  men,  the  military  were  at  hand  to 
compel  them  to  do  so,  or  send  them  on  their  long 
journey  to  the  pleasant  hunting-grounds  beyond  the 
Western  sky. 

They  decided  to  exchange  their  present  location  only 
for  the  pleasant  hunting-grounds  aforesaid. 

Still,  there  was,  all  this  time,  a  party,  even  among 
this  handful  of  Indian  warriors,  that  was  disposed  to 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  Government,  and  reside  on 
a  reservation. 

To  these  Jack  observed  thet  "  to  die  by  bullet  not 
hurt  much:  to  starve  on  reservation  hurt  a  heap." 

Therefore  as  the  Modocs  would  not  be  ruled  by  the 
peace  policy,  General  Can  by  saw  no  alternative  but 
to  try  the  war  policy. 

By  some  means,  Jack  discovered  the  real  sentiments 
of  General  Camby,  and  laid  his  plans  accordingly. 

In  the  meantime  the  medicine-men  of  the  tents  were 
not  idle.  One  of  them  stimulated  Jack's  revenge  by 
relating  a  vision. 

"The  night  was  like  the  raven's  plumage,''  said  he, 
"  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  thick  darkness  set 
upon  the  great  waters,  when  I  lay  down  by  the  foot  of 
a  mighty  oak,  and  on  its  great  roots  I  reclined  rny 
head  in  slumber. 

"Then  there  came  a  sound  like  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,  and  a  voice  like  the  roar  of  the  tempest, 
entered  into  my  ears. 


72  HODOC  JACK. 

"My  hair  stood  erect  on  my  head,  and  my  flesh 
crept  on  my  bones. 

"Then  I  heard  a  voice  which  was  like  the  voice  of 
a  mighty  chief  when  our  fathers  possessed  the  whole  of 
this  land  ;  and  the  voice  said  :  "  Awake,  son  of  Arro- 
queba •!"  and  the  voice  said  "  Look  to  the  North,  to  the 
South,  to  the  East,  and  to  the  West !" 

"  I  looked,  and  beheld  thousands  of  red  men  flock- 
ing from  the  North,  the  East,  and  the  South,  and  all  of 
them  travelling  to  the  West — towards  the  setting  sun. 

"Some  were  on  horses,  and  some  were  on  foot. 
They  had  their  squaws  and  their  pappooses  with  them. 
The  were  all  leaving  the  hunting-grounds  of  their  fa- 
thers, and  hastening  towards  the  great  waters  of  the 
West. 

"  Then  I  looked  again,  and  the  pale-faces  were  fol- 
lowing them — a  great  multitude,  with  flaming  torches 
— driving  the  red  men,  with  their  squaws  and  pnppos- 
ses,  before  them,  as  if  they  had  been  nothing  but  a 
horde  of  wild  beasts  who  had  none  of  the  rights  of 
men,  who  had  no  right  to  their  own  lands  and  their 
own  country,  but  who  ought  to  be  swept  from  the  face 
of  the  earth,  like  so  many  wolves  and  catamounts. 

"Then,  there  was  a  long  silence,  when  the  spirit  said 
to  me  again  look  /" 

"  I  looked  again,  and  behold  !  the  father  of  Mahalala 
stood  before  me,  with  chains  upon  his  limbs,  and  his 
breast  sending  forth  a  stream  of  blood;  and  there  sud- 
denly started  up  from  the  earth  a  tall  and  slender  form 
which  took  the  shape  and  features  of  a  woman  ;  but 
with  deep  sadness  on  her  brow,  and  sorrow  had  carved 
deep  furrows  in  her  cheek. 


MODOC  JACK.  73 

"She  lifted  her  hand  towards  Heaven,  and  cried 
'  His  oath  !  his  oath  !  the  oath  of  Mahalala  !'  " 

"  My  mother  !"  cried  Captain  Jack,  as  he  listened  to 
these  words  of  the  "  Doctor,"  delivered  in  tones  of 
thrilling  earnestness.  "  That  was  my  mother !"  con- 
tinued Jack,  "  I  will  keep  my  oath." 

"  Then,"  continued  the  medicine-man  ;  "  the  woman 
sank  again  into  the  earth,  with  a  cry  of  veng  ce  that 
has  rung  in  my  ears  ever  since." 

*'  Yes,  vengeance,"  replied  Captain  Jack;  "we  will 
have  vengeance,  and  nothing  else  but  vengeance." 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  the  Modocs  pre- 
tended they  were  going  to  remove  to  the  reservation. 
A  day  was  appointed  and  agreed  to  for  the  surrender 
to  take  place.  Wagons  were  sent  by  the  good-hearted 
Commissioners  to  convey  Captain  Jack's  baggage  over 
the  rough  ground  ;  but  no  signs  of  the  Indians  were 
discoverable.  Days  passed,  and  at  length  an  Indian 
appeared,  who  complained  that  C.iptain  Jack  and  his 
fellows  were  fearful  of  the  troops,  and  that  they  wanted 
to  go  to  their  old  Lost  River  reservation.  The  troops 
under  General  Can  by  now  moved  forward  again  and 
commenced  to  encircle  the  savages  in  their  fortress. 
The  circle  was  drawn  gradually  closer,  and  the  Indians 
again  professed  a  desire  for  "peace  conferences.  They 
saw  the  troops  drawing  closer  and  closer,  and  now  set 
up  a  new  demand.  They  objected  altogether  to  leaving 
the  lava  beds,  and  wanted  the  troops  sent  away.  Not- 
withstanding this  preposterous  demand  the  kind- 
hearted  Peace  Commissioners  listened  to  the  palaver 
of  the  braves.  Several  interviews  took  place. 

The  Commissioners,  together  with  Gen.  Canby,  had 


74  MODOC  JACK. 

labored  hopefully,  and  had  apparently  gained  several 
points  over  the  Indians,  looking  to  a  peaceful  solution 
of  this  question. 

For  some  time,  all  the  Modoc  schemes  of  treachery 
had  been  thwarted  through  the  fidelity  of  the  interpre- 
ter, Mrs.  Kiddle  who  was  a  Modoc  woman. 

Terms  were  agreed  on  fora  meeting  which  were  sat- 
isfactory to  Dr  Thomas  and  Gen.  Canby,  but  not  to 
Mr.  Meacham  or  Mr.  Dyar,  or  to  Mrs.  Riddle>  who 
expressed  her  apprehensions  that  mischief  was  breeding 
in  the  Modoc  camp. 

But,  Gen.  Canby  said  that  the  Modocs  dared  not 
molest  them  as  as  his  forces  commanded  the  situation, 
and  Dr.  Thomas  declared  that  where  God  called  him 
to  go,  he  would  go,  trusting  to  his  care. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  10th,  1873,  five  Indians 
and  four  squaws  came  into  the  camp  and  were  made 
presents  of  clothing  and  provisions  by  the  Peace  Com- 
missioners, and  a  message  was  sent  out  by  the  Com- 
missioners asking  for  a  talk  next  morning  at  a  point 
about  a  mile  from  the  picket  line.  Later  in  the  even- 
ing Bogus  Charley  came  in  and  told  the  picket  that  he 
could  take  his  gun  ;  that  he  (Charley)  did  not  intend  to 
go  back  any  more.  The  picket  brought  him  in  and 
took  him  to  the  tent  of  (/eneral  Cnnby  where  Charley 
left  his  gun  and  remained  at  the  tent  of  Frank  Riddle 
during  the  night.  Next  morning  Boston  Charley  came 
in  and  .told  the  Commission  that  Captain  Jack  and 
five  other  Indians  would  meet  the  Commission  outside 
the  lines.  Boston  Charley  and  Begus  Charley  then 
mounted  a  horse  and  started  for  the  lava  beds.  About 
an  hour  after  their  departure  General  Canby,  started 


MODOC  JACK.  75 

for  the  place  appointed.  The  party  arrived  at  the  ap- 
pointed place,  and  were  closely  watched  by  the  signal 
officer,  Lieutenant  Adams,  from  the  signal  station  on 
the  hill  over-looking  the  camp. 

It  was  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning 
when  the  Peace  Commission  party — comprising  Gen. 
Canby,  Mr.  A.  B.  Meacham.  Dr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Dyar, 
Riddle,  the  interpreter,  and  squaw,  and  Bogus  Charley 
and  Boston  Charley — went  out  to  the  designated  spot. 

There  they  met  Captain  Jack,  John  Schonchin,  Black 
Jim,  Shack  Nasty  Jim,  Ellen's  Man  and  Hawker  Jim. 
They  had  no  guns  with  them,  but  each  carried  a  pistol 
at  his  belt.  This,  however,  was  not  much  noticed,  as 
in  previous  interviews  they  had  their  guns  with  them. 

They  sat  down  in  a  kind  of  broken  circle,  and  Gen- 
eral Canby,  Meacham,  and  Dr.  Thomas  sat  together, 
faced  by  Captain  Jack  and  Schonchin.  Mr.  Dyar 
stood  by  Jack,  holding  his  horse,  with  Hawker  Jim 
and  Shack  Nasty  Jirn  to  his  left. 

Meacham  opened  the  talk,  and  gave  a  long  history 
of  what  they  wanted  to  do  for  them,  after  which  Gen. 
Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas  both  talked  for  some  time. 

The  Commissioners  re-affirmed  that  the  soldiers 
would  never  be  withdrawn  until  the  difficulty  was 
settled,  still  extending  the  offer  of  amnesty,  a  suitable, 
and  satisfactory  home,  and  ample  provision  for  their 
welfare  in  the  future.  The  reply  from  Jack  and 
Bchonchin — both  chiefs — was  :  "Take  away  your  sol-^ 
diers,  and  we  will  talk  about  it." 

Captain  Jack   then    talked    in   an   apparently  good, 


76  MODOC  JACK. 

serious  strain,  and  when  he  finished  stepped  back  to  thg 
rear  near  where  Meacham's  horse  was  hitched. 

Jack  asked  for  Hot  Creek  and  Cotton  wood,  the 
places  occupied  by  Fairchild  and  Dorris,  fora  reserva- 
tion. 

Mr.  Meacharn  told  Jack  that  it  was  not  possible  to 

give  him  what  ho  asked. 

John  Schonchin  then  began  to  talk.  He  told  Air. 
Meacham  to  say  no  more ;  that  he  had  said  enough  on 
that  subject,  and  while  Schonchin  was  speaking,  Capt, 
Jack  was  heard  to  say  "  All  ready  !".  At  the  same 
time  Mr.  Dyar  heard  a  cap  miss  fire,  and,  looking 
around,  he  saw  Captaui  Jack  to  his  left,  with  his  pistol 
pointed  at  General  Canby. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  massacre,  and  a 
dozen  postols  were  fired  inside  of  half  a  minute. 

Mr.  Dyar,  after  hearing  the  cap  miss  fire,  turned  and 
fled,  followed  closely  by  Hawker  Jim,  who  fired  two 
shots  after  him.  Dyar,  finding  that  Hawker  Jim  was 
gaining  upon  him,  turned  and  drew  his  derringer 
whereupon  Hawker  Jim  retreated  and  made  the  best 
of  his  way  to  the  Modoc  Camp. 

Captain  Jack  fired  again  on  General  Canby  who  ran 
off  to  the  left ;  but  the  ball  of  Jack's  pistol  struck 
him  under  the  eye>  and  he  fell  dead  to  the  ground. 

Meacham  was  shot  at  by  Schonchin  wounded  in  the 
head.  He  tried  to  draw  his  derringer,  when  two 
Indians  ran  up  and  knocked  him  down- 
Boston  Charley  and  another  Indian  fired  at  Dr. 
Thomas.  The  first  discharge  brought  him  to  his  knees, 
and  the  second  killed  him. 

Riddle  ran   off,  and  it   appears  they  did  not   fire  at 


MODOC  JACK.  77 

him,  but  they  knocked  his  squaw  down.  Dyar,  Riddle 
and  the  squaw  returned  in  safety  to  the  camp. 

About  half  an  hour  after  the  party  of  General  Canby 
had  reached  the  place  of  meeting  with  Jack  and  the 
.  other  savages,  a  cry  from  the  signal  station  was  heard, 
•  saying  that  the  Indians  had  attacked  the  Peace  Com- 
mission, and  that  an  engagament  had  commenced  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  Col.  Mason.  In  a  moment  the 
troops  were  under  arms,  and  deployed  as  skirmishers, 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Green,  and  orders  were 
given  to  forward  double-quick.  Very  shortly  after- 
ward Mr.  Dyer  returned  and  stated  that  the  Indians 
had  attacked  them,  and  that  he  thought  he  \vas  the  only 
one  who  had  escaped :  but  in  a  few  moments  after 
Riddle  and  his  squaw  were  seen  within  the  picket.  Col. 
Miller  and  Major  Throckmorton's  two  batteries,  that 
were  leading  the  skirmish  line  rushed  out,  and,  after 
about  five  minutes  tramp  over  the  broken  rucks,  they 
arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  massacre. 

In  the  distance  were  seen  three  of  the  perpetrators 
of  the  murders  running  round  the  edge  of  the  lake  on 
their  way  back  to  their  rocky  fastness. 

About  a  hundred  yards  to  the  west  of  the  place  of 
meeting  was  found  Mr.  A.  B.  Meacham  badly  wounded 
with  a  pistol  shot  over  the  left  eye.  He  was  immedi- 
ately attended  to  and  carried  back  for  medical  treat- 
ment. 

Fifty  yards  further  on  was  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas,  lying  on  his  face  and  stripped  to  the  waist. 
Life  was  extinct  from  pistol  shot  wounds  in  his  head. 

The  body  of  General  Canby,  the  hero  of  many  a  %ht, 


73  HODOC  JACK. 

was  stripped  of  every  vestige  of  clothing  and  lay  about 
one  hundred  yards  to  the  southward,  with  two  pistol 
shots  in  his  head. 

Pausing  only  to  cast  a  glance  on  the  body  of  the  man 
i they  both  loved  and  respected,  the  troops  dashed  on 
yand  the  two  leading  batteries  were  within  a  mile  of 
the  murderers  when  the  bugle  oall  sounded  a  "  halt." 
Lieutenant  Egan  and  Major  Wright's  companies  of  the 
Twelfth  infantry  were  behind  the  artillery  and  then 
come  the  cavalry. 

General  Gillem  and  Colonel  Green  and  staff  were  up 
with  the  men,  but  as  soon  as  they  found  that  the  In- 
dians had  all  got  back  to  their  stronghold  the  troop* 
were  ordered  to  fallback  with  the  intent  of  commenc- 
ing active  operations  on  the  next  day. 

That  the  Indians  intended  a  general  massacre  is  suf- 
ficiently evident. 

The  following  additional  account,  given  by  Captain 
Anderson,  at  the  time,  will  not  be  found  uninteresting: 

Captain  Anderson  was  at  Colonel  Mason's  camp 
when  the  attack  was  made  on  the  Peace  Commission 
and  party.  He  says  Lieutenants  Sherwood  aud  Doyle 
were  allured  out  from  the  camp  by  a  white  flag.  They 
went  400  or  500  yards,  where  they  met  what  they  sup- 
posed to  be  only  two  Indians,  who  said  they  wanted 
to  talk  to  "Little  Tyee  "  (Colonel  Mason).  They  were 
told  that  they  (the  officers)  did  not  want  to  talk,  and 
for  the  Indians  to  go  back  to  their  camp  and  they  would 
return  to  theirs.  As  the  officers  turned  around  the  In- 
dians, four  in  number,  fired  upon  them,  wounding  Lieu- 
tenant  Sherwood  in  the  arm  and  thigh,  the  latter  being 
a  severe  wound,  the  bone  having  been  shattered  by  the 


MODOC  JACK.  79 

bullet.  Captain  Anderson,  who  was  on  duty  at  the 
signal  station  on  Hospital  Rock,  saw  plainly  the  attack 
upon  Colonel  Mason's  front,  and  telegraphed  General 
Gillem  to  notify  the  Peace  Commission  immediately. 
Colonel  Biddle,  who  was  at  General  Gillem's  headquar- 
ters when  this  message  was  received,  at  once  placed  his 
field-glass  upon  General  Canby  as  the  party  sat  together 
about  one  mile  distant,  and  very  soon  afterwards  he 
perceived  the  whole  party  scattered.  The  Colonel  fol- 
lowed the  General's  course  with  his  glass  while  he  ran 
about  fifty  yards,  when  he  threw  up  his  arms  and  fell 
backward  dead.  Two  of  the  Indians  who  were  follow- 
ing him  jumped  on  him,  and  one — believed  to  be  Cap- 
tain Jack — stabbed  him  in  the  neck.  His  body  was 
afterwards  completely  stripped.  Dr.  Thomas  was  also 
entirely  stripped.  His  purse,  containing  about  $>60, 
was  found  under  the  body,  the  Indians  having  dropped 
it.  Mr.  Meacham  was  shot  in  three  places,  one  ball 
entering  at  the  inner  corner  of  his  right  eye,  another 
inside  of  his  head,  and  the  third  passing  through  his 
right  forearm.  The  first  two  balls  are  both  believed  to 
have  lodged  within  his  cranium.  He  also  received  a  cut 
in  the  left  arm  and  a  scalp  wound  about  five  inches  long. 
He  was  found  about  fifty  yards  from  the  spot  where 
the  slaughter  began,  in  a  direction  opposite  that  taken 
by  General  Canby.  He  was  also  entirely  stripped,  and 
when  found  bewildered  in  mind.  Captain  Anderson 
spent  an  hour  with  him  yesterday  morning,  when  he 
was  conscious  and  in  no  pain.  Meacham  says  he  thinks 
he  shot  Schonchin  in  the  abdomen,  and  blood  was  found 
which  indicated  that  one  of  the  Indians  had  been  wound- 
ed. The  soldiers  who  were  ready  started  on  a  double 
quick  immediately  upon  the  firmgof  the  shots.  They 


80  MODOC  JACK. 

met  Dyarand  Riddle  and  his  wife  before  they  were  half 
way  from  the  camp.  The  Indians  retired,  and  kept  up 
their  retreat  about  600  yardsiu  advance  of  the  soldiers, 
who  followed  them  half  a  mile  beyond  the  murder- 
ground,  where  they  remained  until  dark,  when  they 
1  were  withdrawn  as  they  were  not  provided  with  sup- 
plies. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    BATTLE. 

The  news  of  this  apparently  causeless  and  unaccount- 
able massacre  rang  through  the  country  like  a  tocsin 
calling  for  an  immediate  war  of  extermination. 

Every  letter  from  S;»n  Francisco  containing  the 
slightest  information  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  General 
Can  by  and  his  companions  was  eagerly  read. 

Among  other  accounts  is  the  following  sketch  of  the 
atrocity,  from  A.  B.  Meacham,  chairman  of  the  Modoc 
Peace  Commission. 

About  this  time  two  armed  Indians  suddenly  ap- 
peared from  the  brush  in  our  rear.  An  explanation 
was  asked,  and  Captain  Jack  replied  by  snapping  a  pis- 
tol at  General  Can  by,  saying  in  Indian,  "  All  ready  ;" 
.  after  which  General  Can  by  was  despatched  by  Captain 
,  Jack  with  a  pistol  and  knife,  and  Dr.  Thomas  by  a  pis- 
tol-shot in  the  breast  and  gunshot  in  the  head  by  Bos- 
ton Charley.  Mc-acbam  and  Dyar  attempted  to  escape 
toward  the  camp,  the  former  followed  by  Schonchin 
John,  and  the  l,tt<>r  by  Black  Jim  and  Hooker  Jim. 
Schonchin  fired  six  shots  at  Mcaeham,  hitting  him  four 


MODOC  JACK.  81 

times  and  leaving  him  for  dead.  Schonchin  attempt- 
ing to  scalp  him  was  deterred  by  a  Modoc  woman. 
Dyar  escaped  unhurt  although  fired  at  three  times  by 
Black  Jim,  who  was  only  a  few  feet  away,  and  by 
Hooker  Jim, -by  whom  he  was  pursued.  After  run- 
ning about  200  yards  he  turned  upon  his  pursuer  with 
a  small  pocket  Derringer,  when  the  Indian  turned  and 
ran  back,  thus  Jetting  Dyar  get  away.  Mr.  Dyar  will 
be  obliged  to  leave  in  a  day  or  two  on  account  of  offi- 
cial duties,  but  while  here  the  remainder  of  the  Com- 
mission will  consult  with  General  Gillem  should  any 
;ictive  measures  be  necessary  on  our  part.  We  believe 
that  complete  subjugation  by  the  military  is  the  only 
method  by  which  to  deal  with  these  Indians.  Very 
respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  B.  MEACHAM, 
Chairman  Modoc  Peace  Commission. 

The  following  was  written  immediatly  after  the 
massacre  : 

APRIL  12,  10  P.  M. — The  news  of  the  horrible  mas- 
sacre of  General  Canby  and  Commissioner  Thomas  has 
cast  a  gloom  over  the  entire  community,  and  great  ex- 
citement and  intense  feeling  exist  that  the  Modocs 
should  now  receive  the  punishment  they  richly  deserve, 
and  that  not  one  should  be  left  for  this  terrible  massa- 
cre. 

II.  C.  Ticknor,  who  brought  the  official  dispatches, 
left  headquarters  at  5  P.  M.  yesterday.  He  said  that 
orders  had  just  been  issued  for  an  advance  along  the 
whole,  line  at  5  A.  M.  to-day.  The  plan  was  to  advance 
slowly,  take  everything  as  they  went,  having  wntor  and 
provisions  with  them.  In  this  case  it  may  be  two  days 
before  the  trouble  is  ended.  It  is  presumed  that  the 


82  MODOC  JACK. 

remains  of  Gen.  Canby  and  Commissioner  Thomas  will 
be  forwarded  to  this  place,  and  they  should  arrive  to- 
morrow  some  time. 

Another  carrier  would  leave  the  headquarters  of  tho 
I  military  camp  this  evening,  and  would  arrive  here 
early  to-morrow.  Those  are  all  the  particulars  of  the 
tragedy,  in  addition  to  the  dispatch  sent  this  afternoon. 
A  courier  left  here  at  9  o'clock  to-night  for  General 
Gillem's  headquarters,  with  dispatches  from  Schofield. 

By  many  persons  it  is  believed  that  the  Modocs  are 
utterly  desperate  ;  will  fight  till  the  last  man  falls,  and 
that  they  will  not  leave  the  caves  in  the  lava  beds.  By 
others  it  is  believed  that  they  have  already  made  their 
escape,  and  will  begin  a  relentless  war  upon  all  tho 
weak  parties  of  whites  they  encounter.  It  is  supposed 
that  Scar-faced  Charley  and  Curly-head  Doctor  were 
with  the  Indians  who  attacked  Colonel  Mason's  position 
and  that  this  attack  was  a  blind  to  attract  the  attention 
of  General  Gillem  from  the  conference  between  Cap- 
tain Jack  and  his  men  and  the  Peace  Commissioners. 

By  this  time  the  public  are  throughly  familiar  with 
the  murder  of  Gen.  Canby  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas. 
Lieutenants  Sherwood  and  Doyle  were  lured  out  of 
camp  by  a  white  flag  to  have  a  talk,  and  then  fired  on. 
General  Canby  and  the  Peace  Commissioners  were 
talking  with  Jack  Schonschin  and  a  few  other  braves. 
Suddenly  Jack  said,  "  All  right,"  and  shot  General 
Canby  dead.  Mr.  Meacham  was  shot  in  three  places, 
but  may  recover.  He  thinks  he  shot  Schonschin  in  the 
abdomen,  Dr.  Thomas  was  killed  instantly.  Both  his 
and  the  body  of  General  Canby  we*  c  entirely  stripped 
and  mutilated. 


MODOC  JACK.  83 

The  indignation  throughout  the  country  was  tremen- 
dous, and  the  government  determined  upon  a  war  of 
extermination.  Troops  were  rushed  on  to  the  front, 
and  the  American  eagle  prepared  to  swoop  down  upon, 
the  medicine  flag  of  Captain  Jack,  General  Canby's 
place  was  filled  by  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis,  a  soldier 
who  served  bravely  through  the  war  against  his  Southern 
namesake.  The  army  of  the  United  States  was  sup- 
plemented by  the  Warm  Spring  Indians. 

The  following  particulars  were  received  at  a  later 
date : 

"  The  assassination  of  General  Canby  has  created  a 
most  profound  impression  on  the  military,  and  his  life 
will  be  fully  avenged.  The  noble  old  gentleman  was 
stripped  stark  naked  by  the  treacherous  murderers,  and 
his  necktie  was  the  only  portion  of  his  clothing  found. 
It  is  now  known  that  the  Indians  intended  a  general 
massacre  of  all  the  "  Tyees"  or  chiefs.  They  expected 
Colonel  Mason  to  come  out  and  talk  with  them  on  the 
other  side,  where  they  hung  out  a  white  flag,  but  the 
officer  of  the  day,  Lieutenant  Sherwood,  was  the  only- 
victim  to  their  treachery. 

Lieutenant  Sherwood  is  still  in  a  dangerous  condition 
but  hopes  are  entertained  for  his  recovery. 

Our  signal  station  is  now  of  immense  service,  send- 
ing messages  to  and  from  camp  to  camp.  The  Indians 
were  out  yesterday  in  their  fortifications,  and  one  of 
them  had  a  large  white  flag  on  a  pole,  which  he  was 
swinging  to  and  fro  in  imitation  of  our  signal  officers. 

The  Snake  and  Pitt  River  Indians  are  still  quiet,  but 
lire  watching  the  course  of  the  conflict  nin  great  inter- 


84  MODOC  JACK. 

It  is  now  stated  that  Generals  Canby  and  Gillern  and 
the  Peace  Commissioners  had  a  talk  about  Riddle's 
warning,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  only  a 
ruse  of  Kiddle's  to  delay  the  negotiations.  They  had 
not  the  utmost  confidence  in  Riddle's  veracity  ;  but  on 
this  occasion  it  seems  he  was  right  in  his  supposition. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  was  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
clergyman  from  the  west,  and  Mr.  Meacharn  was  a 
Quaker.  Neither  of  them  had  been  brought  into  prom- 
inence before  their  appointment  on  the  Modoc  Com- 
mission. 

General  Canby  married  Miss  Louisa  Ames,  of  Bal- 
timore, noice  of  Bishop  Ames,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

On  the  22nd  the  following  dispatch  was  sent  from 
the  Lava  Beds  . 

"  For  the  past  two  days  there  has  been  a  kind  of 
a  truce,  as  we  have  had  no  Modocs  to  fight  with.  They 
hove  gone — it  \$  uncertain  where  ;  but  I  feel  confident 
that  before  long  we  shall  hear  of  their  whereabouts,  if 
not  their  departure." 

On  the  24th  this  dispatch  was  sent : 

"  The  Warm  Spring  Indians  encamped  last  night 
near  the  lake,  between  us  and  Colonel  Mason's  com- 
mand. We  have  not  seen  an  Indian  to-night,  although 
a  sharp  lookout  had  been  kept  from  the  signal  station. 

"  Donald  McKay  is  of  the  opinion  they  have  left,  as, 
finding  his  party  had  taken  up  a  position  between  them 
iind  water,  they  concluded  another  attack  was  medita- 
ted. The  Warm  Spring  Indians  are  to  hunt  them  up 
at  night,  in  order  to  try  and  find  where  they  have  loca- 
ted. Two  squaws  captured  by  Colonel  Miller's  battery 


MODOC  JACK.  85 

were  brought  into  camp  yesterday.  They  stated  that 
two  Yainox  Modocs  had  deserted  from  the  band.  They 
were  probably  the  two  seen  by  Ticknor  travelling  west 
in  the  direction  of  the  Ypinox  reservation. 

"  The  reinforcements  from  San  Francisco  of  tvvo 
batteries  of  the  Fourth  Artillery  will  be  here  in  about 
five  days. 

"The  Indians  are  supposed  to  still  have  about  thirty 
fighting  bucks.  Donald  McKay  is  of  the  opinion  that 
they  have  gone  in  an  easterly  direction  towards  Goose 


Immediately  on  hearing  of  the  massacre,  the  follow- 
ing dispatch  was  sent  to  Gen.  Gillem  by  Gen.  Schofield  : 

"Please  inform  me  fully  of  the  situation,  so  I  may 
send  more  troops  if  necessary.  If  the  Indians  escape 
from  the  lava  beds  I  may  send  troops  to  operate  against 
them  from  another  direction.  Let  me  know  fully  whut 
you  wish.  1  suppose  you  have  force  enough  to  destroy 
the  outlaws  unless  they  succeed  in  eluding  you.  Noth- 
ing short  of  their  prompt  and  sure  destruction  will 
satisfy  the  ends  of  justice  or  meet  the  expectations  of 
the  Government. 

(Signed)  JOHN  M.  SCHOFIELD." 

The  remains  of  General  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas  lay 
in  state  at  Yreka  in  the  Masonic  Hall  all  day,  and  were 
visited  by  nearly  the  whole  population.  Over  a  thou- 
sand persons  viewed  the  remains.  At  twelve  o'clock 
about  300  children  of  the  public  schools  passed  in  pro- 
cession by  twos.  The  coffins  were  wrapped  in  the  na- 
tional colors  and  strewn  with  wreaths  and  flowers.  The 
remains  of  General  Canby  were  forwarded  to  Portland 
by  the  afternoon's  stage  in  charge  of  the  General's  aid, 


86  MODOC  JACK. 

Captain  R.  H.  Anderson,  who  was  met  at  Rosebud  on 
Wednesday  evening  by  a  special  train  for  Portland. 

The  remains  of  Dr.  Thomas  left  for  Redding  by  pri- 
vate conveyance  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

A  dispatch  under  date  of  San  Francisco,  April  14, 
says  :  "A  special  messenger  returned  to  Yreka  to-night 
.from  the  lava  beds.  There  is  nothing  definite  from 
the  seat  of  war;  there  had  been  no  fighting  up  to  the 
time  he  left.  Ammunition  and  supplies  had  been 
crowded  forward  with  despatch.  The Mttaeon  had  ex- 
tracted four  bullets  from  Mr.  Meachanr^fvounds,  and 
there  is  little  hope  of  his  recovery.  There  were  various 
rumors  as  to  when  an  attack  will  be  made.  Some  say 
to-day  and  some  to-morrow,  the  commanders  waiting 
the  arrival  of  the  Warm  Spring  Indian  scouts,  who  are 
to  be  used  between  the  lines  of  General  Gillem  and 
Colonel  Mason's  commands,  they,  with  cavalry,  mak- 
ing a  third  line  and  all  advancing  together  from  the 
north,  south,  and  east  of  the  lake  to  the  West.  It  is 
believed  the  battle  will  be  a  hard  one,  and  that  no 
quarter  will  be  shown  to  theModocs.  The  Pit  River 
Indians  remain  quiet  and  peaceable,  but  if  the  Modoca 
escape  there  will  be  danger. 

Every  horse  in  Hot  Springs,  Surprise  Valley,  and 
Big  Valley  is  down  with  the  epizootic. 

On  April  26th,  a  reconnoitering  party  composed  of 
Companies  K  and  A,  Fourth  Artillery,  and  Company  E, 
Twelfth  Infantry,  left  camp  at  half  past  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  in  the  direction  of  the  stronghold  of 
the  Modocs. 

They  were  commanded  by  Captain  E.  Thomas  of  the 
Fourth  Artillery.  A  dozen  Warm  Spring  Indians  were 


MODOC  JACK.  87- 

expected  to  cooperate  on  Captain  Thomas's  left.  The 
troops  having  formed  a  line  of  skirmishers  advanced 
without  molestation  until  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of 
the  bluff  south  of  the  lava  beds,  having,  meanwhile, 
signalled  to  the  camp  that  no  Indians  were  to  be  found. 
On  reaching  the  bluff  the  Modocs  opened  a  severe  fire, 
causing  the  troops  to  seek  such  shelter  as  they  could 
find  in  the  crevices,  chasms,  (fee.  As  usual,  the  foe  was 
unseen.  The  first  position  soon  became  untenable, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Indians  were  able  to  deliver 
both  a  cross-fire  and  an  enfilading  fire,  the  enemy  en- 
joying every  ad  vantage  of  position  and  knowledge  of 
ihe  ground.  They  were  also  well  armed. 

In  more  than  one  instance  a  Modoc  has  been  known 
to  have  two  or  more  Spencer  rifles,  enabling  him  to 
keep  up  a  rapid  fire  from  his  natural  or  artificial  breast, 
work  of  rock.  The  surface  of  the  ground  in  many 
.  places  is  torn  up  by  volcanic  actions,  which  form  crev- 
ices, and  these  are  adaptable  to  the  purposes  of  either 
hiding  or  for  points  of  defence:  In  several  instances 
the  soldiers,  knowing  nothing  of  the  topography,  have 
come  unawares  on  such  fissures,  and  before  they  could 
escape  were  confronted  with  a  wily  Indian,  rifle  leveled 
and  finger  on  the  trigger.  Death,  or  at  least  a  danger- 
ous wound,  is  the  result. 

It  was  impossible  to  estimate  the  number  of  Modocs 
wounded.  It  was  reported  that  the  Warm  Spring  In- 
dians took  four  scalps.  This  may  be  the  whole  or  it 
may  bf»  only  a  portion  of  the  killed,  the  Modocs  being 
very  careful  to  destroy  as  far  :is  possible  all  truces  of 
their  casualties,  carrying  their  wounded  into  caves  and 
burning  the  dead  bodies.  The  wounded  are  supposed 


88  MODOC  JACK. 

to  be  hidden  in  caves,  but  few  of  them  have  been  seen 
so  far.  Justice  to  the  memory  of  the  gallant  dead  com- 
pels the  record  of  the  following  well  authenticated  facts  ; 
When  Captain  Thomas  found  himself  and  his  men  sur- 
rounded by  his  vindictive  foe,  true  to  his  nature  as  a 
soldier,  he  sought  to  cheer  the  soldiers  on  to  the  bitter 
end  and  obtain  if  possible  life  for  life,  and  to  sell  their 
lives  dearly,  saying  :  "  Men,  we  are  surrounded;  we 
must  fight  and  die  like  men  and  soldiers." 

In  his  noble  efforts  to  sustain  the  courage  of  his  small 
command  he  was  ably  seconded  by  Lieutentant  Howe 
and  Lieutenant  Wright. 

After  receiving  a  mortal  wouud  he  buried  his  gold 
watch  and  chain  among  the  rocks  and  emptied  his  re- 
volver among  the  enemies  before  dying. 

If  living  he  would  also  write  in  terms  of  well  deserv- 
ed praise  of  the  conduct  of  Lieutenant  Harris,  who  was 
similarly  situated.  Captain  Thomas,  with  a  portion  of 
his  Battery  K,  Fourth  Artillery,  set  an  example  of  bra- 
very and  determination  to  his  men,  uttering  some  such 
sentiments  as  those  already  quoted.  Not  that  it  re- 
quired such  expressions  to  stimulate  the  men  to  deeds 
of  bravery,  when  every  man  would  willingly  have  fol- 
lowed either  officer  wherever  they  chose  to  lead  ;  yet  it 
showed  the  mutual  confidence  existing  between  them. 
iJince  they  were  to  fall,  it  is  a  pity  it  had  not  been 
\v hen  opposed  to  worthier  foes.  Yet  it  is  a  mournful 
consolation  that  each,  Captain  Thomas.  Lieutenant 
Howe,  and  Lieutenant  W light,  the  sons  of  soldiers 
met  a  soldier's  death  in  defence  of  the  Government 
and  laws  of  the  country.  Of  the  men  killed  or  wound- 
ed it  is  perhaps  sufficient  to  say  they  showed  their  bra- 


MODOC  JACK.  89 

very  with  their  blood — the  former  with  their  lives,  the 
latter  in  total  or  partial  disability. 

The  victory  of  the  Modocs  was  complete. 

The  news  of  this  defeat  created  quite  a  sensation  in 
army  circles  where  the  three  young  officers  who  were 
killed  were  well  known. 

Captain  Thomas  was  a  son  of  General  Lorenzo 
Thomas,  formerly  Adjutant-General  of  the  army. 

Lieutenant  Howe  was  the  son  of  Major  Marshal 
Howe,  on  the  retired  list,  and  a  son-in-law  of  General 
Barry,  the  commandant  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

Lieutenant  Harris  is  a  nephew  of  the  late  Bishop 
Mcllvaine. 

Army  officers  attributed  this  disaster  to  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  cavalry,  which  was  dismounted  because 
of  the  epizootic. 

The  two  batteries  of  artillery  and  the  one  company 
of  infantry  that  were  ordered  to  advance  into  the  Lava 
Beds  with  such  fatal  results,  were  intended  as  a  recon- 
noitring party  to  find  out  whether  the  Modocs  had 
really  absconded.  The  suspicion  that  they  had,  and  a 
too  confident  presumption  that  they  would  not  fight  in 
a  body,  may  explain  t'ue  disastrous  blunder  of  exposing 
two  companies  of  brave  soldiers  to  be  shot  down  like 
dog-s  by  an  unseen  foe  lying  in  ambush.  It  seems  too 
apparent  that  the  Indians  practised  successful  feints 
upon  General  Gillem.  They  made  him  believe,  or  at 
least  suspect,  they  had  fled  and  scattered,  and  thereby 
disarmed  his  wariness  and  entrapped  him  into  an  am- 
buscade. We  accordingly  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
more  soldiers  than  the  whole  number  of  fighting . 
Modocs.  On  t'  eir  part  there  was  no  random  firing. 


SO  MODOC  JACK. 

They  were  all  expert  marksmen,  and  from  the  places  of 
concealment  every  shot  told.  It  seems  a  great  pity 
that  General  Gillem  did  not  wait  for  the  arrival  of  his 
superior  officer. 

After  this  defeat  of  our  troops,  General  Davis  arrived 
and  tool;  command  of  the  Modoc  expedition. 

Gen.  Davis  found  the  soldiers  disheartened  by  the 
disasters  of  the  campaign  and  had  to  resort  to  many 
devices  to  arouse  their  flagging  enthusiasm  and  in- 
crease their  efficiency. 

He  began  his  work  with  a  will  and  earnestness  that 
won  for  him  the  sympathy  and  friendship  of  the  officers 
and  privates,  and  inspired  them  with  confidence.  He 
studied  the  situation  carefully,  utilized  the  experience 
of  his  predecessors,  gave  the  wearied  soldiers  time  to 
recuperate  from  the  fatigues  and  mental  excitement  in- 
cidental to  their  rough  rights  in  the  lava  beds,  sent  out 
scouting  parties,  had  his  men  disciplined  in  Indian 
dodges,  and  put  his  first  grand  movement  in  operation. 

About  this  time,  it  was  discovered  that  the  Modocs 
had  escaped  from  their  stronghold  by  three  routes,  and 
finally  encamped  on  Snow  Mountain,  twenty  miles 
South  of  Sorass  Lake. 

Fights  without  any  decided  results  were  taking  place 
occasionally  causing  the  loss  and  wounding  of  our 
troops. 

One  such  battle  was  fought  at  Dry  Lake,  on  May 
10th,  our  loss  was  as  follows  : — 

Killed — James  D.  Totler,  corporal,  Company  B; 
Adolphus'  Fisher,  private,  Company  B. 

Wounded — Louis  Dunbar,  scalp  wound  in  the  head  ; 
Peter  Griffin,  flesh  wound  in  the  left  hip  ;  Jesse  Beeves, 


MODOC  JACK.  91 

corporal,  fracture  of  the  left  arm;  which  was  subse- 
quently amputated  ;  Patrick  McGuire,  fracture  below 
the  right  knee — right  leg  amputated  below  the  thigh  ; 
Samuel  McGlew,  flesh  wound  in  the  right  arm,  cutting 
an  artery;  George  Brown,  flesh  wound  in  the  left  leg; 
all  of  Company  B.  Michel  Maher,  of  Company  C,  flesh 
wound  in  the  right  hip.  All  the  above-named  belong- 
ed to  the  First  Cavalry. 

Wassamucka  and  Lebastor,  Warm  Spring  Indians, 
were  killed,  and  Yonowiton,  another  scout,  had  his 
right  arm  fractured. 

But,  notwithstanding  those  successes  of  the  Modocs, 
it  seemed  that  the  peace  men  in  the  Modoc  camp  were 
dissatisfied,  and  preferred  to  trust  to  the  good  faith  of 
the  palefaces. 

Accordingly,  fifty-five  members  of  Capt.  Jack's 
band  of  Modoos  surrendered  to  our  army.  Fifteen  of 
these  were  warriors,  and  the  rest  were  women  and 
children. 

Captain  Jack  then  had  twenty  warriors  left,  and  he 
resolved  to  fight  to  the  end,  being  relieved  of  two  ob- 
stacles, viz  ;  the  women  and  children,  and  the  peace 
party  among  the  Modocs. 


After  a  series  of  reverses  befalling  our  soldiers  operat- 
ing in  the  1  »va  fields,  their  brav<  ry  was  crowned  with 
success.  Deserted  and  in  despair,  the  Modoc  chief  sur- 
rendered, a  prisoner  of  war,  and,  with  five  captured  com- 
panions, upon  trial  by  court  martial,  was  righteously 
condemned  to  death. 


92  MODOC  JACK. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LAST   SCENE  OF  ALL. 

THE  last  day  on  earth  of  the  condemned  savages  was 
distinguished  by  a  big  talk,  which  lasted  from  11  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  October 
2d,  1873.  The  death  sentence  had  not  been  officially  made 
known  to  the  Indians,  though  they  had  been  able  to  learn 
something  of  their  impending  fate  through  their  squaws, 
who  had  been  permitted  to  occasionally  visit  them.  On 
that  morning  Gen.  Wheaton,  accompanied  by  Post  Chap- 
lain Heugemborg  and  several  other  officers  and  gentle- 
men, visited  the  Guard-house.  The  thirteen  Indians  con- 
fined there  were  released  from  their  cells  and  conducted  to 
the  main  room.  Captain  Jack,  Schonchin  and  Boston 
Charley  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  bunks  used  by  the 
soldiers  when  off  guard.  The  other  Modocs  distributed 
themselves  on  the  right  and  left  of  Captain  Jack,  squat- 
ting on  the  floor. 

The  Chaplain,  a  venerable  gentleman,  opened  the  talk. 
He  stepped  forward  and  took  Captain  Jack  warmly  by  the 
hand,  saluting  each  of  the  other  Indians  in  like  manner. 
He  then  told  them  of  Christ's  coming  and  how  he  died  for 
God's  red  children  as  well  as  His  white  children,  and  the 
certainty  of  salvation  by  repenting  and  accepting  Him. 
He  told  them  that  their  refusal  to  accept  Jesus  would  re- 
sult in  the  Great  Spirit  sending  them  to  a  dreadful  place. 
He  had  as  much  authority  from  the  Great  Father  above  to 
tell  them  this  as  General  Wheaton  had  from  the  Great 
Father  in  Washington  to  tell  them  they  should  have  to 
die.  The  Modocs  knew  that  they  had  wicked  hearts  and 
that  they  had  done  many  bad  deeds ;  but  however  wicked 
they  had  been,  they  could  be  saved.  Applegate  reduced 
this  to  jargon,  and  Dave  Hill  interpreted  the  jargon  into 
the  Modoc  language. 

The  Indians  ail  listened  attentively  to  every  word  that 
was  uttered.  Schonchin  and  Jack  were  the  most  atten- 
tive. The  chief  scratched  his  head  very  often,  his  blanket 
falling  down  about  his  waist.  Boston  Charley  kept  his 
red  blanket  closely  about  him,  and,  though  wearing  a 


MODOC  JACK.  93 

wasted  look,  seemed  as  if  he  had  resolved  to  die  game  and 
to  say  nothing.  Black  Jim,  the  tallest,  most  athletic,  and 
bc-'st  looking  Indian  in  the  party,  sat  clown  against  the 
wall  on  a  roll  of  blankets.  He  seemed  to  be  somewhat 
impatient  at  the  proceedings,  though  not  at  all  frightened. 
Barncho,  alias  One-eyed  Jim,  who  was  chained  to  Sloluck, 
sat  with  his  head  buried  in  his  blanket.  Sloluck,  a  young 
Indian,  was  very  restless,  changing  his  position  very  fre- 
quently— now  lying  down  on  his  side,  covering  his  face 
with  his  arms,  then  standing  up  and  looking  nervously 
around. 

After  the  chaplain  had  finished  his  exhortation,  all 
but  the  six  condemned  Indians  were  returned  to  their 
cells. 

General  "Wheaton  then  requested  the  chaplain  to  inform 
the  Indians  of  the  decision  of  the  President.  The  chaplain 
did  so  in  a  few  feeling  words.  As  Dava  Hill  translated 
the  terrible  news,  not  a  muscle  of  their  faces  moved.  The 
restlessness  of  their  hands,  however,  showed  that  the  blow 
went  home.  They  seemed  to  be  striving  hard  to  maintain 
their  composure.  After  some  moments  of  silence,  Captain 
Jack's  lips  began  to  move.  His  voice  was  low  and  feeble, 
and  was  at  first  barely  audible.  He  spoke  as  follows : 

"  I  have  heard  the  sentence,  and  know  what  it  is;  but  I 
feel  that  I  am  more  innocent  than  Bogus  Charley,  Hooka 
Jim,  Steamboat  Frank,  and  Shacknasty  Jim.  These  in- 
stigated the  crime  of  which  I  am  accused.  When  I  look 
in  my  heart  I  sec  no  crime.  These  young  men  started 
th^se  murders.  It  is  hard  to  rid  them  of  their  savage 
habits.  I  was  always  in  favor  of  peace,  Bogus  Charley 
was  the  first  to  propose  the  murder  of  General  Canby  and 
the  Peace  Commissioners.  The  young  men  of  the  tribe 
were  with  him.  I  said  no  ;  but  they  Irad  the  power,  and 
carried  me  with  them.  We  came  near  having  personal 
difficulties,  and  my  life  was  in  danger.  When  Bogus 
Charley  proposed  killing  Canby,  Boston  Charley  was  the 
first  to  sanction  it.  Bogus  said,  *  If  you  fail  to  help  me,  I 
will  do  it  myself/  I  feel  that  while  these  four  men  are 
free  they  have  triumphed  over  me  and  the  Government. 
I  should  feel  better  satisfied  if  they  were  brought  to  trial. 
Bogus  was  a  traitor  to  both  sides.  He  told  lies  to  the 
Modocs,  and  he  lied  to  Ganby.  I  should  like  to  see  him 
brought  in  here.  I  know  that  Shacknasty  killed  Canby 
and  shot  Meachem,  and  Boston  killed  Thomas.  After  the 


94  MODOC  JACK 

massacre,  Bogus  told  mo  he  knew  the  blood  was  on  his 
hands,  and  that  1  would  not  be  held  accountable.  Bogus 
wanted  to  kill  Canby  and  Gillem." 

General  Wheaton,  through  the  interpreter,  asked  Cap- 
tain Jack  why  they  killed  Canby  and  Thomas — what  they 
expected  to  gain  by  such  action. 

Jack  replied,  •«  I  wished  ior  peace,  but  the  young  men 
said  they  were  not  ready  for  peace.  They  wanted  war, 
but  they  did  not  give  their  reasons.  I  did  not  counsel  the 
Hot  Creeks  to  go  arid  fight.  When  I  surrendered  I  ex- 
pected to  be  set  free.  I  hoped  to  live  on  Klamath  Lake 
with  iny  people." 

He  then  asked  if  he  might  entertain  any  hopes  of  living. 
On  being  told  that  the  President's  order  would  be  carried 
out,  he  said  the  Great  Chief  in  Washington  was  a  long 
way  off,  and  he  thought  he  (Captain  Jack)  had  been  mis- 
represented. If  the  Great  Chief  at  Washington  would 
come  to  see  him  he  might  change  his  opinion. 

He  was  then  told  that  the  Big  Chiefs  children  number- 
ed millions,  and  that  hj  was  guided  by  good  men  who 
represented  him. 

Jack  then  continued:  '' I  do  not  wish  to  talk  a  great 
deal,  and  only  about  those  things  near  my  heart.  I  would 
like  to  have  the  execution  postponed  until  the  matter  was 
made  more  clear." 

On  being  told  that  the  President's  decision  was  not 
given  without  a  great  deal  of  thought,  Jack  replied  :  "  I 
know,  judging  by  the  delay,  he  was  not  hasty  in  the  mat- 
ter, but  I  think  he  should  have  heard  what  I  had  to  say." 

The  interpreter  informed  Captain  Jack  that  General 
Wheaton  advised  him  not  to  think  of  a  reprieve, but  to  pay 
attention  to  what  the  Chaplain  said. 

Jack  said  he  Idoew  what  the  Chaplain  had  said  was 
good,  and  he  should  follow  the  advice,  and  if  they  permit- 
ted him  to  live  he  would  be  a  better  man.  u  I  would 
like,3'  he  said,  "  to  live  to  die  a  natural  death." 

General  Wheaton  then  asked  if  any  of  the  others  had 
anything  to  say,  when  Sloluck  said:  "I  want  to  talk. 
White  men  call  me  George.  I  have  been  confined  in  the 
guard-house  through  misrepresentations.  My  child  died 
yesterday,  and  I  could  not  go  with  the  mourners.  Nobody 
here  can  say  they  saw  me  at  the  massacre." 

Black  Jim.  then  said :  "  I  see  a  great  many  men  present, 
but  I  have  no  talk  to  make  as  Captain  Jack  talks.  I  al- 


MODOC  JACK.  95 

ways  tell  the  truth,  and  am  well  known  among  my  people. 
I  was  wounded  in  the  first  fight  at  Lost  River,  and  was 
very  sick  for  many  months.  My  heart  tells  me  I  am  a 
good  and  strong  man,  and  able  to  take  care  of  the  Modocs. 
If  Jack  and  Schonchin  are  killed,  I  should  then  be  left  to 
take  care  of  the  tribe.  I  don't  know  what  Jack  and 
Schonchin  think  about  it." 

Jack  muttered  something  and  shook  his  bead. 
1  Black  Jim  continued  :  "T  hat's  my  idea.  If  I  have  been 
guilty  of  these  crimes  and  the  law  of  white  chiefs  decides  that 
I  should  die,  I  am  willing  to  die  and  not  afraid  to  die.  I  have 
been  a  long  time  confined  without  having  a  chance  to  talk.  I 
am  afraid  of  nothing,  and  when  it's  war  I  am  always  in  the 
front  rank.  I  think  we  should  have  some  time  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  our  spirits  in  the  other  world.  I  would  like  to  hear 
the  spirit  man  talk." 

General  Wheaton  explained  that  the  Chaplain  had  come  for 
that  purpose. 

Boston  Charley  then  took  a  quid  out  of  his  mouth  and  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  tell  his  speech.  He  created  a  decided  sen- 
sation. He  said  :  "  You  all  know  me  ;  during  the  war  it  seem- 
ed to  me  that  I  had  two  hearts — one  Indian  and  the  other  white. 
I  am  only  a  boy,  and  yet  you  all  know  what  I  have  done.  Al- 
though a  boy,  I  feel  like  a  man,  and  when  I  look  on  each  side  of 
me  I  think  of  these  other  men  as  women.  I  do  not  fear  death. 
I  think  I  am  the  only  man  in  the  room.  I  fought  in  the  front 
rank  with  Shacknasty,  Steamboat,  Bogus  and  Hooka.  I  am  al- 
together a  man  and  not  half  a  woman.  I  killed  General  Ccwbt/, 
assisted  by  Steamboat  and  Bogus.  Bogus  said  to  me,  4  Do  you 
believe  that  those  commissioners  mean  to  try  to  make  a  peace  V 
I  said,  '  I  believe  so.'  He  said,  'I  don't ;  they  want  to  lead  us 
into  some  trap.'  I  said,  '  All  right — I  go  with  you.'  I  would 
like  to  see  all  my  people  and  bid  them  good-bye  to-day.  I 
would  like  to  go  to  the  stockade  to  see  them.  I  see  that  if  I 
were  to  criminate  others  it  would  not  amount  to  anything.  I 
see  it  is  too  late.  I  know  that  other  chief  men  were  not  at  the 
bottom  of  that  affair,  and  they  did  not  take  so  prominent  a  part 
in  the  massacre  as  the  younger  men.  I  know  but  little,  but 
when  I  see  anything  with  my  eyes,  I  know  it." 

Boston  was  then  asked  why  they  killed  Canby.  He  said  that 
all  the  presents  they  had  received  had  no  influence  on  them,  and 
they  suspected  Canby  and  the  Commissioners  of  treachery,  and 
their  hearts  were  wild.  After  the  young  men  had  decided  to 
kill  the  Csmmissioners,  he  told  Bogus  he  was  afraid.  Bogus 
said  :  " Don't  be  afraid;  I  can  kill  him."  After  that,  Captain 
Jack  said  he  would  go  and  prevent  it.  The  object  of  Bogus 
going  in  that  night  te  camp  was  to  remove  any  suspicion  from 


96  MODOG  JACK. 

General  Canby 's  mind.  The  young  warriors  thought  that  Canby, 
Thomas,  Meacham  and  Gillem  were  powerful  men,  and  that  the 
death  of  these  Tyees  would  end  all  further  trouble.  When  they 
saw  Dyar  coming  in  place  of  Meacham,  they  decided  to  kill 
them  all.  When  Bogus  came  into  the  soldiers'  camp  he  told 
Riddle's  squaw  that  he  was  going  to  kill  Canby  and  the  Com- 
missioners. She  said,  4  All  right ;  go  and  kill  them.'  I  am 
fuelling  what  I  know  to  be  the  truth — nothing  more." 

Captain  Jack  then  referred  to  what  Boston  had  said  abou 
his  share  in  the  massacre,  and  remarked  :  "  Scar-faced  Charley 
is  my  relative.  He  is  a  worse  man  than  I  am.  I  would  pro- 
pose to  make  an  exchange,  and  turn  Scar- face  over  in  my  place, 
and  then  I  could  live  and  take  care  of  my  family.  I  would  like 
to  make  friends  with  General  Wheaton  and  punish  the  right 
parties." 

This  modest  proposition  caused  considerable  amusement, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  chief.  He  concluded :  "  If  I  am  to 
die,  it  is  well.  I  am  ready  to  go  and  see  my  Great  Father 
above." 

After  a  long  pause,  and  none  of  the  Indians  manifesting  any 
desire  to  speak,  General  Wheaton  asked  Schonchin  if  he  wished 
to  say  anything. 

A  pleased  expression  stole  over  the  old  chiefs  face,  as  he  as- 
sented and  arose.  He  spoke  for  over  an  hour.  His  speech  was 
the  oration,  of  the  day,  and  made  a  marked  impression. 

Schonchin  spoke  as  follows : 

"  You  all  here  know  me.  I  was  always  a  good  man.  There 
never  was  a  time  that  1  did  not  want  a  white  man's  heart  and 
asked  advice  from  white  men.  I  sent  my  boy  to  Yainox  Reser- 
vation, and  he  chose  a  piece  of  land  for  his  home.  Boston 
Charley  told  the  truth  when  he  called  me  a  woman.  I  was  like 
a  woman,  and  my  voice  was  against  war.  I  was  always  a  peace 
man ;  but  there  were  some  young  men  that  were  rash  and 
anxious  to  distinguish  themselves,  Hooka  Jim  and  some  other 
boys  made  all  the  trouble,  and  when  I  look-at  the  irons  on  my 
legs  I  feel  that  they  should  wear  them.  I  have  always  given 
the  young  men  advice,  shook  hands  with  the  whites,  and  here 
I  am  now,  condemned,  with  irons  on  my  feet.  I  heard  what 
the  Great  Spirit  man  had  to  say,  and  I  think  it  good.  I  should 
not  die  for  what  others  have  done,  but  I  will  not  find  fault  with 
the  decision,  but  will  go  to  meet  my  father  in  the  spirit  land. 
My  own  father  lived  and  died  long  ago  when  I  was  a  boy.  I 
often  thought  I  should  like  to  go  and  meet  him  inlhe  brighter 
world,  with  the  Great  Spirit.  If  the  law  kills  me  and  I  go  up 
to  the  spirit  land,  perhaps  the  Great  Spirit  will  say  to  me, 
1  Schonchin,  my  law  has  taken  your  life,  and  I  accept  of  you 
as  one  of  my  people.'  It  was  not  in  my  heart  to  do  wrong,  but 


MODOC  JACK.  97 

I  was  led  away  oy  the  wishes  of  the  young  men  who  were  anxi- 
ous for  war.  You  know  whether  I  am  good  or  not,  because 
you  tried  the  law  on  me.  Hooka  Jim  always  thought  he  was  a 
strong,  good  shot,  and  did  these  things  contrary  to  my  wish.  I 
spoke  against  the  murder  of  the  Commissioners.  When  the  big 
Chief  in  Washington  read  the  evidence  all  over  he  must  have 
been  led  to  believe  that  Schonchin  was  a  wicked,  savage  Indian, 
and  did  not  know  that  Schonchin  had  used  all  his  influence 
with  the  young  men  to  keep  them  from  doing  these  rash  acts. 
The  great  Chief  has  to  depend  on  the  evidence  he  gets  from  his 
subordinates,  and  perhaps  thinks  Schonchin  a  bad,  wicked  man, 
while  Schonchin  has  been  a  good,  quiet  Indian  all  the  time.  The 
Great  Spirit,  who  looks  from  above,  will  see  Schonchin  in 
chains,  but  he  knows  that  his  heart  is  good  and  says  :  '  You 
die ;  you  become  one  of  my  people.' 

"  I  will  now  try  to  believe  that  the  President  is  doing  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  the  Great  Spirit  in  condemning  me  to  die. 
You  may  all  look  at  me  and  see  that  I  am  firm  and  resolute.  I 
am  trying  to  think  that  it  is  just  that  I  should  die,  and  that  the 
Great  Spirit  approves  of  it  and  says  it  is  law.  I  am  to  die.  I 
leave  my  son.  I  hope  he  will  be  allowed  to  remain  in  this 
country.  I  hope  he  will  grow  up  like  a  good  man.  I  want  to 
turn  him  over  to  the  old  chief  Schonchin  at  Yainox,  who  will 
make  a  good  man  of  him.  I  have  always  looked  on  the  young- 
er men  of  our  tribe  as  my  especial  charge,  and  have  reasoned 
with  them,  and  now  I  am  to  die  as  the  result  of  their  bad  con- 
duct. I  leave  four  children  and  I  wish  them  turned  over  to  my 
brother  at  Yainox.  It  is  doing  a  great  wrong  to  take  my 
life.  I  was  an  old  man  and  took  no  active  part.  I  would  like 
to  see  those  executed  for  whom  I  am  wearing  chains. 

"  In  the  boys  who  murdered  the  Commissioners  I  have  an  in- 
terest as  though  they  were  my  own  children.  If  the  law  does 
not  kill  them,  they  may  grow  and  become  good  men. 

"  I  look  back  to  the  history  of  the  Modoc  war,  and  I  can  see 
Odeneal  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  trouble.  He  came  down  to 
Linkville  with  Ivan  Applegate ;  sent  Ivan  to  see  and  talk  with 
Captain  Jack,  who  talked  no  good.  If  Odeneal  came  by  him- 
self, all  the  Modocs  would  go  to  Yainox.  I  think  that  Odeneal 
is  responsible  for  the  murder  of  Canby,  for  the  blood  in  the 
Lava  Beds,  and  the  chains  on  my  feet.  I  have  heard  of  reports 
that  were  sent  to  Yreka,  Ashland  and  Jacksonville,  that  the 
Modocs  were  on  the  war-path,  and  such  bad  talk  brought  Ma- 
jor Jackson  and  the  soldiers  down. 

"I  do  not  want  to  say  my  sentence  is  not  right;  but  after 
our  retreat  from  Lost  River  I  thought  1  would  come  in,  surren- 
der and  be  secure.  I  felt  that  these  murders  had  been  commit- 
ted by  the  boys,  and  that  I  had  been  carried  along  with  the 


98  MODOC  JACK. 

current.  If  I  had  blood  on  my  hands  like  Boston  Charley,  I 
could  say,  like  him,  ' I  killed  General  Canby' — '  I  killed  Thomas.1 
But  I  have  nothing  to  say  about  the  decision,  and  I  would  never 
ask  it  to  be  crossed.  You  are  the  law-giving  parties.  You  say 
I  must  die.  I  am  satisfied,  if  the  law  is  correct. 

"  I  have  made  a  straight  speech.  I  should  like  to  see  the 
Big  Chief  face  to  face  and  talk  with  him,  but  he  is  a  long  dis- 
tance off — like  at  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  with  me  at  the  bottom, 
and  I  cannot  go  to  him  ;  but  he  has  made  his  decision — made 
his  law,  and  I  say  let  me  die.  I  do  not  talk  to  cross  the  deci- 
sion. My  heart  tells  me  I  should  not  die — that  you  do  me  a 
great  wrong  in  taking  my  life.  War  is  a  terrible  thing.  All 
must  suffer — the  best  horses,  the  best  cattle  and  the  best  men. 
I  can  now  only  say,  let  Schonchin  die !" 

The  Chaplain  now  stepped  forward  and  offered  up  an  elo- 
quent prayer.  The  venerable  man  wept  like  a  child  at  its  con- 
clusion. The  big  talk  then  closed,  General  Wheaton  telling  the 
condemned  that  he  would  endeavor  to  comply  with  all  their 
wishes.  Afterward  the  squaws  and  children  of  the  condemned 
men  were  taken  into  the  guard-house  to  take  a  last  farewell. 
The  anguish  of  the  women  was  frightful.  The  camp  resounded 
with  their  hysterical  groans. 

On  the  morrow,  October  3rd,  the  troops  formed  in  line  at  9 
o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  parade  ground,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Adjutant  Kingsbury.  Captain  H.  C.  Hasbrouck  was  in 
command  of  the  line.  The  troops  took  position  in  the  following 
order  :  Light  Battery  B,  Fourth  Artillery,  Lieutenant  S.  W.  Tay- 
lor ;  Company  E,  Twelfth  Infantry,  Lieutenant  H.  R.  Anderson  ; 
Company  F,  Twenty-first  Infantry,  Lieutenant  P.  Jocelyn ;  Com- 
pany G,  Twelfth  Infantry,  Sergeant  Ash;  and  Troop  B,  First 
Cavalry,  Major  Jackson.  The  Artillery  acted  as  cavalry  and, 
as  well  as  the  latter,  were  mounted.  At  9:15  the  column  was 
placed  in  motion.  On  arriving  opposite  the  Guard-house  they 
halted.  An  interval  was  left  in  the  centre  of  Company  F  (the 
central  company).  In  this  space  a  wagon  drawn  by  four  horses 
was  place  at  10  o'clock. 

The  morning  was  beautiful  and  clear.  The  gallows  was  lo- 
cated in  an  open  field,  to  the  south  of  the  stockade,  with  a  low 
undergrowth  of  brush  to  the  east  about  forty  feet.  The  proces- 
sion moved  to  the  gallows  at  9  :  45  A.  M.  The  drums  were  muf- 
fled, and  the  infantry  marched  with  arms  on  the  right  shoulder, 
and  the  cavalry  with  sabres  drawn.  A  great  cloud  of  dust  her- 
alded their  approach.  Boston  Charley  and  Black  Jim  sat  in 
front  of  the  wagon,  and  Captain  Jack  and  Schonchin  in  the 
rear.  Captain  Jack  kept  his  blanket  drawn  up  nearly  to  his 
ears.  Boston  Charley  leaned  forward  and  intently  surveyed  the 
gallows.  Nearly  three  hundred  Klamath  Indians,  squaws  and 


MODOC  JACK.  99 

bucks,  arrived  at  the  fort  at  daylight,  mounted  on  ponies.  They 
dismounted  and  took  up  a  position  behind  the  troops.  Boston 
Charley  and  Black  Jitn  ascended  the  scaffold  first.  Boston 
Charley  took  a  quid  of  tobacco  as  he  stepped  out  of  the  wagon, 
and  another  as  he  walked  up  the  scaffold  stairway.  He  was 
very  indifferent,  looking  around  at  the  soldiers  and  spitting  vig- 
orously. 

Captain  Jack  was  very  weak,  and  had  to  be  helped  into  the 
wagon  at  the  guard-house  and  assisted  to  his  position  by  Cor- 
poral Ross.  Boston  wore  Lieutenant  Cranston's  cap,  and  Black 
Jim  a  brown-felt  slouch  hat.  Captain  Jack  and  Schonchin  were 
uncovered.  Black  Jim  wore  a  full  dress  soldier's  coat  and  blue 
pants  ;  Schonchin,  an  army  blouse  and  blue  trousers.  Captain 
Jack  wore  a  striped  cotton  shirt,  which  was  open  at  the  breast, 
revealing  a  red-flannel  shirt.  He  wore  trowsers  of  dark-mixed 
material.  The  Indians  sat  down  on  the  scaffold,  and  were  first 
pinioned,  under  direction  of  Colonel  Hoge,  by  Corporal  Thomas 
Ross  of  Company  G,  Twelfth  Infantry  ;  Corporal  John  Killian, 
Batter}'  B,  Fourth  Artillery  ;  private  Eugene  Anderson,  Com- 
pany F,  Twelfth  Infantry,  and  private  Robert  Wilton,  Company 
G,  Twelfth  Infantry.  At  five  minutes  to  ten,  Applegate  and  Dave 
Hill  mounted  the  gallows  and  explained  to  them  that  the  orders 
that  were  about  to  be  read  were  in  relation  to  their  sentence  and 
execution.  This  occupied  about  five  minutes.  Schonchin,  as 
Dave  Hill  descended  the  steps,  turned  round  and  spoke  a  few 
words  to  him. 

Several  wagons,  filled  with  Oregonians,  were  corralled  in  the 
shade  of  some  small  pines  to  the  right  and  front  of  the  scaffold. 
After  reading  the  orders  relating  to  the  execution,  the  Adju- 
tant read  the  order  commuting  the  sentence  of  Barncho  and 
Sloluck.  Four  or  five  dogs  belonging  to  the  garrison  basked 
in  the  shadow  of  the  gallows,  which  was  thrown  forward — the 
bright  sun  being  behind  the  condemned.  Six  coffins  were 
stored  under  the  gallows.  At  a  quarter  past  ten  o'clock  Chap- 
lain Heugemborg  stepped  forward  and  read  the  Episcopal  ser- 
vice for  the  condemned  prisoners.  A  gentle  breeze  swept  across 
the  field.  After  the  Chaplain  had  concluded,  Colonel  Hoge, 
who  had  stepped  down  from  the  gallows,  approached  a  bucket 
of  water,  lowered  a  dipper  and  took  a  drink.  He  ascended  the 
gallows  stairway,  and  directed  a  non-commissioned  officer  to 
carry  some  water  to  the  condemned.  Black  Jim  and  Boston 
each  swallowed  a  mouthful  of  water.  Jack  and  Schonchin  re- 
fused to  drink.  The  nooses  were  then  adjusted,  the  black  cap 
was  first  drawn  over  Jack,  then  another  placed  on  Schonchin, 
and  another  on  Boston,  Black  Jim  seeing  the  sunlight  last. 
The  caps  consisted  of  black-canvas,  condemned  army  haver- 
sacks. Three  minutes  of  terrible  suspense  followed.  The  con- 


100  MODOC  JACK 

*^- 

demned  were  tnen  compelled  to  stand  up.  Colonel  Hoge  took 
out  a  white  handkerchief  and  dropped  it.  At  10:  15  o'clock, 
precisely,  Corporal  Ross  raised  his  hatchet,  and  with  a  flourish, 
it  severed  the  rope,  and  the  drop  fell  with  a  report  as  though 
one  plank  had  /alien  upon  another.  The  four  condemned  fell 
heavily.  At  the  same  moment,  the  clear  voice  of  Captain  Has- 
brouck  broke  the  awful  stillness  with  the  command,  "  Jn  parade 
— rest !"  The  four  bodies  swung  round  several  times,  and  then 
spun  round  the  other  way.  Captain  Jack  never  moved  a  mus- 
cle. Schonchin  and  Boston  Charley  died  hard.  Black  Jim  also 
died  without  a  struggle.  The  bodies  were  then  cut  down  and 
buried. 


THE   END 


WILL  BE   ISSUED   MAY   10th,    1876, 

P5  WITT'S  SCHOOL  SPEAKERS,  No.  5. 

THE 


L, 

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51    Onondaga  Giant. 
62    The  Ring  Dove, 
53    Texan  Ranger. 
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55    Outlaw's  Sister. 
66    Put  Martin. 
67     Sol  Anderson. 
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59    Charles  Blackford. 
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81    Featherhead  Snake. 
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84    Sea  Gull. 
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87    Nick  's  Mate. 
88    Partisan's  Oath. 
89    Duke's  Pi  ize. 
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94    Sea  Witch. 
95    Wildash. 
96    Com  m  ache  Bill. 
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1*    Firelight  Phil. 
116    The  Trail  Dog. 

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64    Mad  Maud. 
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71    Yankee  Jim. 
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Vulture's  Bride. 
Red  Foot. 
Fanny  Campbell. 
Captain  Lovell. 
Red  Hatchet. 
Mltty  Doyle. 
Grey  Hawk. 

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11    Blanche. 
12    Ivan,  the  Terrible. 
1      Phantom  Wrecker. 
1      Sea  Tiger. 
1      Girl  Pirate. 
1      Rube,  the  Ranger. 
1      Rebel  Spy. 
1      Last  Witness. 

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21    Catamount  Cris. 
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